Under the terms of the new master service agreement (MSA), Parexel will continue supporting Pfizer’s drug discovery and development efforts. The MSA is for a three-year term, with an added option to extend for an additional two years if the parties agree.
Peyton Howell, chief commercial and strategy officer of Parexel, told Outsourcing-Pharma that the collaboration is an extension of a long-standing, close working relationship.
“Parexel and Pfizer have been working together for more than two decades but over the last 10 years, our relationship has evolved from vendor to strategic partner,” she said. “Our partnership really took off when Pfizer consolidated its clinical trial outsourcing with a full-service approach; however, the partnership has continued to evolve to include other models beyond full service to meet the varied needs of the development pipeline.”
Parexel CEO Jamie Macdonald said the two companies share the same patient-centric philosophy.
“Pfizer’s mission aligns perfectly with Parexel’s focus on putting the patient at the heart of everything we do and we have seen positive results from this alignment over our long-term relationship. We look forward to continuing to work with Pfizer to advance their important clinical development programs for the benefit of patients,” Macdonald said.
According to the companies, the MSA’s strategic focus centers on driving cycle times for Pfizer’s development projects. Parexel is charged with providing clinical development via full-service, hybrid and functional service across a range of therapeutic areas, such as rare diseases, oncology, inflammation and immunology, as well as internal and hospital-based treatments.
Howell commented that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the drug development industry in such a way that focused, strategic collaborations are extremely important.
“Clinical development is really evolving and innovating in response to the pandemic; we are working together in new ways so that we can continue our work on behalf of patients,” she said. “We see many opportunities to continue to build upon these innovative approaches – through the pandemic and beyond.”
In June, Parexel announced a partnership with healthcare research specialist TriNetX, with the intent of furthering use and understanding of real-world data in clinical research.
