Agreement Creates Unique Strategic Collaboration for Development and Clinical Trial Execution
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C - Thursday, May 16th 2013 [ME NewsWire]
(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Merck Serono, a division of Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, and Quintiles, the world’s largest provider of biopharmaceutical development and commercial outsourcing services, today announced a new, five-year clinical development agreement. This strategic collaboration is the first-of-its-kind between a biopharmaceutical company and a biopharmaceutical services provider, creating a comprehensive process that integrates the expertise and experience from both organizations into a single, well-aligned clinical development engine.
In a novel approach to clinical development that is founded on a shared commitment to cost-disciplined science, the collaboration is intended to optimize productivity in the design and execution of studies with a focus on quality, speed and efficiency.
Under this agreement, Merck Serono will shape and lead the strategy of its clinical development programs, with Quintiles directing clinical trial planning and execution. Quintiles also will be a key contributor to Merck Serono’s future clinical trial design activities. In this capacity, Quintiles will focus on delivering superior performance based on optimized clinical trial design and execution strategies, using highly efficient processes and proven technologies.
To fully leverage the expertise of both organizations, leaders from Quintiles will collaborate in strategic decision-making processes affecting the development of the Merck Serono portfolio.
“By combining the strengths of Merck Serono and Quintiles, we are creating a new model in clinical development that will unlock the knowledge and insights of both companies,” says Annalisa Jenkins, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Development and Medical at Merck Serono. “This is an innovative and unique collaboration that will help to translate the highest-quality science into efficiency and agility throughout our clinical trials, while enhancing our competitive position in an increasingly challenging environment of clinical drug development.”
Moving forward, Quintiles will be the sole primary provider of Merck Serono’s outsourced clinical development services for its global clinical programs. The agreement will span the full spectrum of clinical development, from Phase I through to post-marketing approvals. Importantly, it will also allow Merck Serono to expand its reach globally by leveraging the broad local expertise of Quintiles to implement development programs around the world.
“This agreement is built upon a long-standing commitment to trust and transparency between our two organizations, and I’m confident it will only be enhanced by this innovative relationship,” says Tom Pike, Chief Executive Officer, Quintiles. “We are excited about the opportunities this collaboration provides as we work with Merck Serono in a new and innovative manner that leverages the best of our combined capabilities. We view this as a key step forward not only for our two companies, but for the way the industry approaches the development of new therapies for the patients we ultimately serve.”
The agreement reflects a shared commitment between both organizations to delivering optimal performance in clinical development. The objective is to expedite the delivery of new therapeutic options to patients with high medical need across Merck Serono’s core research therapeutic areas of neurology, oncology, immuno-oncology and immunology.
About Quintiles
Quintiles (NYSE: Q) is the world’s largest provider of biopharmaceutical development and commercial outsourcing services with a network of more than 27,000 employees conducting business in approximately 100 countries. We have helped develop or commercialize all of the top-50 best-selling drugs on the market. Quintiles applies the breadth and depth of our service offerings along with extensive therapeutic, scientific and analytics expertise to help our customers navigate an increasingly complex healthcare environment as they seek to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of better healthcare outcomes.
About Merck Serono
Merck Serono is the biopharmaceutical division of Merck. With headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany, Merck Serono offers leading brands in 150 countries to help patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis, infertility, endocrine and metabolic disorders as well as cardiovascular diseases. In the United States and Canada, EMD Serono operates as a separately incorporated subsidiary of Merck Serono.
Merck Serono discovers, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines of both chemical and biological origin in specialist indications. We have an enduring commitment to deliver novel therapies in our core focus areas of neurology, oncology, immuno-oncology and immunology.
About Merck
Merck is a leading pharmaceutical, chemical and life science company with total revenues of €11.2 billion in 2012, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by approx. 39,000 employees in 66 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and free shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.
For more information, please visit www.merckserono.com or www.merckgroup.com
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements reflect, among other things, Quintiles’ current expectations and anticipated results of operations, all of which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Quintiles’ actual results, performance or achievements, market trends, or industry results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Therefore, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “should,” “targets,” “will” and the negative thereof and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Quintiles’ prospectus dated May 8, 2013, filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act on May 9, 2013, as such factors may be updated from time to time in Quintiles’ periodic filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release and in Quintiles’ filings with the SEC. Unless legally required, Quintiles assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking information to reflect actual results or changes in the factors affecting such forward-looking information.
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Quintiles
Kevin Nash, Media Relations, +1 919-998-2514
kevin.nash@quintiles.com
Karl Deonanan, Investor Relations, +1 919-998-2789
InvestorRelations@quintiles.com