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Biotech / Medical : Biotech Valuation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Biomaven who wrote (1783)	10/3/2000 5:16:43 PM
From: Biomaven	Respond to of 52153

Here's some CRO-relevant stuff: Tuesday October 3, 2:00 pm Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Pharmaceutical Outsourcing Management Association Are the Leading Contract Research Organizations Meeting Big Pharma's Needs?; Pharmaceutical Firms Moving Toward Smaller CROs To Meet Outsourcing Needs, POMA Survey Finds WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmaceutical firms increasingly are turning to smaller contract research organizations (CROs) to meet their outsourcing needs, according to the latest survey conducted by the Pharmaceutical Outsourcing Management Association (POMA). The results of the survey appear in the October 2000 issue of Bio/Pharmaceutical Outsourcing Report, the leading independent publication covering outsourcing by pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. Responses to the 2000 POMA Spending Survey from more than a dozen of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the United States indicate that, contrary to popular belief, spending for CRO services this year actually has been quite robust, and will grow substantially next year. However, survey results also show that it is the smaller, mostly privately held CROs that are benefiting most from R&D outsourcing. Specifically, 45 percent of the clinical respondents indicated that they are spending more with smaller CROs this year, compared to 18% spending more with the larger CROs. Last year, those numbers were reversed, with 43% indicating they were spending more with larger CROs, and 21% spending more with smaller CROs. ``The numbers confirm what we have been seeing in the reported financial results of the publicly traded CROs, and the anecdotal evidence from the private CROs,'' says B/POR publisher Jim Miller. Several factors explain the trend, according to Miller: There's a level of dissatisfaction with the quality of service from the major CROs, especially relative to price. And there are fewer large, global Phase III studies being conducted this year, compared to the late 1990's. POMA is the largest organization of pharmaceutical professionals devoted to advancing the practice of outsourcing in the pharmaceutical industry. POMA members are at the center of their companies' outsourcing activities, including vendor qualification, competitive bidding, contract negotiation and management and performance measurement processes. Nearly 90% of respondents indicated that outsourcing expenditures in 2000 are up, compared to only 60% last year. Other key findings of the survey include: Nearly 30% of respondents were responsible for CMC projects, a big jump from last year when only 1 CMC response was received. Project delays and cancellations remain a fact of life for sponsors and CROs. Twenty-seven percent of clinical research respondents report experiencing more delays and cancellations. Sixty percent of respondents said that there has been more re- prioritizing of portfolios this year than in past years. Last year, despite some high-profile instances of strategic restructuring of portfolios along with the big cancellations, just 43% said cancellations were unusually high. The 2000 POMA Spending Survey offers a promising 2001 outlook for CROs. Ninety percent of the respondents indicated that CRO spending will be up in 2001 over 2000; in fact 71% of all respondents, including 64% of clinical research respondents, said that CRO spending will be up by more than 10% next year. The increased spending is being driven, in part, by the growing number of products in the pipeline. Almost 60% of respondents, including 45% of clinical research respondents, indicated that they would be dealing with substantially more product candidates next year than this year. Next year also is expected to bring more spending on Phase III projects than 2000. For more information on POMA, contact POMA Hotline 650-562-1818. For more information on B/POR or to obtain a copy of the Oct. 2000 issue, contact Jim Miller, 703-323-4971.