New Healthcare-related Products, Services, and Companies
inVentiv Health Creates Patient Outcomes Segment New division combines capabilities that help patients achieve optimum health. inVentiv Health has launched inVentiv Patient Outcomes, a business segment focused on helping pharmaceutical companies and healthcare payers achieve the best medical outcomes for patients. The new segment is led by Ed Mitzen, who serves as president of the new division and oversees The Therapeutics Institute, Adheris, and The Franklin Group, all of which are now part of inVentiv Patient Outcomes. Before this appointment, Mr. Mitzen founded and led two other inVentiv Health companies, CHS and Palio Communications, and served as a group president in the inVentiv Communications division. “inVentiv Patient Outcomes is distinct because our focus is on what happens after the prescription is written,” Mr. Mitzen says. “There are significant opportunities to partner with healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, pharmacists, and payers to help patients get the most from their therapies and ultimately achieve better health.” The Therapeutics Institute is comprised of about 300 nurse educators who assist physicians and nurses in designing and implementing in-office patient education. Adheris offers pharmacy-based communications programs designed to educate and motivate patients to stay on drug therapy. The Franklin Group provides access to medication through reimbursement case management services and administers patient assistant programs for those who need financial assistance to purchase their therapies. Additional leadership for inVentiv Patient Outcomes is provided by Dr. Rick Richards, founder and CEO of AWAC, which also has been integrated into the new segment. AWAC provides disease-management support to third-party payers and physicians to ensure improved patient outcomes. There are significant opportunities to partner with healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, pharmacists, and payers to help patients get the most from their therapies, says Ed Mitzen, President of inVentiv Patient Outcomes. Elsevier Forms Clinical Solutions Group Designed to accelerate implementation of clinical research findings by medical researchers, practitioners, providers, and payers, Elsevier’s new clinical solutions group within its health sciences division combines the company’s journal and periodicals content with its electronic tools. The group is led by Randy Charles, who has been named executive VP, clinical solutions. Mr. Charles was previously global head of marketing for Elsevier Health Sciences. Some of the Elsevier products coordinated within the clinical solutions group include clinical decision and reference support products such as MDConsult, EmpoweRx, and Clinical Pharmacology, as well as more than 200 medical journals, including The American Journal of Medicine, and all Mosby and Saunders medical references and textbooks, including Gray’s Anatomy. Combining our print and electronic divisions, our periodical and book divisions, and evidence- and experience-based content will fuel innovation through improved coordination, says Randy Charles, Executive VP, Clinical Solutions. i3 Creates Pharma Informatics Business i3 has launched i3 Pharma Informatics, a business unit created to consolidate all of i3’s data and technology products under one umbrella to enhance the delivery of product marketing, drug safety, and drug-development solutions to the life-sciences industry. The new business unit will intersect science, technology, and data systems to create solutions that can increase the understanding of the benefits and risks of drugs and medical devices during real-world use. The new unit combines i3’s data assets, online tools, and scientific expertise to help clients gain a clearer understanding of the potential of their products and the corresponding market dynamics, enabling them to make rapid, informed decisions throughout the development and commercialization process. i3 Pharma Informatics is being led temporarily by Glenn Bilawsky, CEO of i3, while the company searches for a permanent unit leader. “By combining rich data with leading science, i3 will enable customers to better understand the real-world benefits and risks of their products and gain the most comprehensive understanding of the physicians and patients who use them,” Mr. Bilawsky says. At the heart of i3 Pharma Informatics lies more than 30 terabytes of de-identified information on patient and provider healthcare experiences. Products currently included under the i3 Pharma Informatics banner include i3 InVision for Managed Markets, which enables customers to identify real market patterns for efficient and effective product positioning; i3 InVision Data Mart, a patient-level database of de-identified medical and pharmacy claims, lab results, and enrollment data; i3 Aperio, a drug experience registry that helps researchers identify potential safety signals in new drugs; and i3 CRAFT, i3’s clinical research analysis and feasibility tool that provides real-time testing of trial design feasibility and the identification of concentrations of appropriate patients and potential clinical investigators. By combining rich data with leading science, i3 Pharma Informatics enables customers to better understand the real-world benefits and risks of their products, says Glenn Bilawsky, CEO of i3. M&A Activity Allergan Inc., Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy privately held Esprit Pharma Inc. for about $370 million in cash. The acquisition enhances Allergan’s overactive bladder treatment portfolio. Esprit Pharma, East Brunswick, N.J., has expertise in the genitourinary market through its marketing of Sanctura (trospium chloride), a twice-daily anticholinergic approved to treat overactive bladder. In addition, the FDA has approved a once-daily formulation, Sanctura XR. Esprit licenses the exclusive right to market Sanctura and Sanctura XR in the United States and its territories from Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Indevus has copromotion rights under an agreement with Esprit. Allergan currently expects to launch Sanctura XR in the first quarter of 2008. For more information, visit allergan.com. AstraZeneca, London, has consolidated and enhanced its worldwide biologics division with its integration of Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) into its existing MedImmune business. The new business unit unites the resources and expertise from CAT, the pre-existing MedImmune organization, and other biologics activities within the AstraZeneca group under the MedImmune name. The move results in an operationally independent, vertically integrated biotechnology business with more than $1.3 billion in revenue, an estimated pipeline of 100 research projects and more than a dozen clinical product candidates, and more than 3,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit astrazeneca.com. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., New York, has signed a definitive agreement to purchase privately held Adnexus Therapeutics. The acquisition advances the company’s biologics strategy in multiple therapeutic areas. Adnexus has developed a new class of targeted biologics called Adnectins using its proprietary PROfusion protein design engine. Under the terms of the acquisition, Bristol-Myers Squibb will initially pay about $415 million in cash for Adnexus. The deal also contains an earn-out structure, which could result in Bristol-Myers Squibb paying an additional sum estimated at $75 million. After the transaction closes, Adnexus will become a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb and remain based in Waltham, Mass. For more information, visit bms.com. Celera Group, Alameda, Calif., an Applera Corp. business, has purchased Atria Genetics Inc., South San Francisco, Calif., for about $33 million in cash. The addition of Atria complements Celera’s existing molecular diagnostics portfolio. Atria has a line of human leukocyte antigen testing products used to identify potential donors in the matching process for bone marrow transplantation. Celera expects to integrate all 13 Atria employees upon completion of the transaction. For more information, visit celera.com. Chiltern, London, has acquired U.S.-based Clinical Trial Management Services Inc. (CTMS), expanding the British clinical research organization’s presence in the United States. CTMS, Bristol, Tenn., conducts clinical trials in the areas of respiratory, gastrointestinal, central nervous system, infectious disease, and ophthalmology indications. The company, which employs 190 people, will become part of Chiltern once the transaction closes. For more information, visit chiltern.com. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Teaneck, N.J., has signed a definitive agreement to acquire marketRx Inc. for about $135 million in cash to strengthen its IT and business process outsourcing offerings to the life-sciences industry. New Jersey-based marketRx provides analytics, market research, and related Web-based software services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device industries. Once the transaction is complete, marketRx will be absorbed by Cognizant and its products made available under the Cognizant name. For more information, visit cognizant.com. McKesson Corp., San Francisco, has signed a definitive agreement to purchase specialty pharmaceuticals distributor Oncology Therapeutics Network (OTN), for about $575 million, including the assumption of debt. The acquisition enhances McKesson’s position in the oncology specialty category. With an estimated $3 billion in annualized sales, OTN is one of the United States’ largest distributors of specialty drug products, serving more than 3,500 oncologists and 1,500 rheumatologists nationwide. McKesson plans to integrate OTN with its McKesson Specialty operations. For more information, visit mckesson.com. Phase Forward, Waltham, Mass., has acquired privately held Green Mountain Logic for an estimated $5.25 million in cash. The acquisition enhances Phase Forward’s portfolio of software solutions for Phase I clinical trials. Green Mountain Logic’s primary product, LabPas CT, manages clinic workflow and information during the entire Phase I clinical-trial process, from the subject-recruiting stage through data collection and sample management during the trial. Phase Forward plans to integrate this technology with its e-clinical suite. Green Mountain Logic will continue to operate from its Montpelier, Vt., offices. For more information, visit phaseforward.com. United BioSource Corp., Bethesda, Md., has agreed to acquire Caro Research Inc., Concord, Mass. Caro is a provider of simulation modeling technologies that help pharmaceutical and life-sciences companies assess costs and benefits associated with healthcare. Together with Caro Research, UBC’s global healthcare analytics and data services have a presence in 10 countries. For more information, visit unitedbiosource.com. Ventaira Pharmaceuticals, Columbus, Ohio, announced that its former parent firm Battelle has agreed to acquire all of Ventaira’s assets and assist the specialty pharmaceutical company in closing its operations at the end of 2007. Ventaira is developing Mystic, a proprietary electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pulmonary drug delivery technology, as well as formulation capabilities to deliver drugs more efficiently to and through the lung. Battelle, Columbus, Ohio, is an independent R&D organization with global businesses in national security, energy technology, and health and life sciences. Ventaira was spun out from Battelle in 2000. For more information, visit ventaira.com. Around the GLOBe AAIPharma Inc., Wilmington, N.C., has added an office in Budapest, Hungary, as it continues expanding its central and eastern European operations. The Budapest group, including seven staff members, has therapeutic expertise in the areas of oncology, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and anti-infective clinical trials, along with particular specialist knowledge of pediatric trials. The office is providing clinical monitoring, project management, and regulatory affairs services across Phase II to Phase IV trials. AAIPharma has offices in 14 countries, including Russia and Croatia. For more information, visit aaipharma.com. Eisai Co. Ltd., Tokyo, has established the marketing subsidiary Eisai SA/NV to serve as the regional sales hub for Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The subsidiary is initially focusing its marketing efforts on the anti-epileptic drugs Zonegran and Inovelon, as well as on Prialt, a treatment for nonopioid severe chronic pain. In addition, Eisai SA/NV plans to promote the Alzheimer’s disease treatment Aricept in Belgium and Luxembourg with its copromotion partner, Pfizer Inc. Eisai SA/NV, based in Brussels, is owned by Eisai Europe Ltd., London, and is Eisai’s ninth marketing subsidiary in Europe. For more information, visit eisai.com. MDS Pharma Services, King of Prussia, Pa., a business unit of MDS Inc., has moved its central laboratory operations in China to a new, larger facility in Beijing to meet the growing demands from pharmaceutical and biotech companies conducting clinical trials in the country. At almost 25,000 square feet, the new facility offers a five-fold increase in testing capacity, four times the space to produce clinical-trial kits, and a wider range of specialized clinical-trial testing services. This new facility’s proximity to the Beijing airport also facilitates faster transportation of clinical-trial samples. For more information, visit mdsinc.com. Parexel International Corp., Waltham, Mass., has acquired all outstanding shares of Taiwan-based Apex International Clinical Research Co. Ltd., for an estimated $50.9 million in cash. The purchase strengthens Parexel’s clinical research service offerings in the Asia-Pacific region. Parexel has merged Apex with its Parexel (Taiwan) Inc. business and named the resulting entity Parexel Apex International. Albert Liou, founder of Apex, has been appointed corporate VP and general manager of Parexel Apex. For more information, visit parexel.com. PPD Inc., Wilmington, N.C., has opened new offices in four countries as it continues expanding its global footprint to meet the increasing demand for its drug-development services. The contract research organization’s new offices are located in Copenhagen, Denmark; Lima, Peru; Lisbon, Portugal; and Sydney, Australia. PPD’s Sydney office is its second location in Australia, with the first based in Melbourne. PPD has offices in more than 30 countries. For more information, visit ppdi.com. Publicis Groupe SA, Paris, has made two agency acquisitions intended to enhance its digital and healthcare communication services offerings in Italy. Healthware SpA, Salerno, specializes in digital communications programs for the healthcare industry, with a strong focus on e-health and information technology. Multimedia Healthcare Communication Srl, Milan, is a public relations and advertising planning agency that offers solutions that integrate medical education, event management, and media relations. Both companies remain separate units with their own identities within the Publicis Healthcare Communications Group. For more information, visit publicisgroupe.com. Quintiles Latin America, an Argentina-based subsidiary of Quintiles Transnational Corp., has purchased Bio-Trials, expanding its clinical research operations in Central America. The acquisition gives Quintiles Latin America access to an experienced, well-established team of researchers, as well as a network of independent investigators in the increasingly important Central American region. Bio-Trials has headquarters in Panama and offices in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru. For more information, visit qtrn.com. The Thomson Corp., Stamford, Conn., has acquired Prous Science, Barcelona, expanding its portfolio of chemistry and drug-discovery information solutions. Prous Science develops information solutions that enhance knowledge-based drug discovery and development. Its Prous Science Integrity portal provides access to more than 265,000 compounds with demonstrated biological activity, and almost 100,000 paten family records. The company serves a number of key geographic areas, including Europe, Japan, North America, and Latin America. Prous Science and its global staff of more than 180 people are to become part of Thomson Scientific’s chemicals/pharmaceuticals business unit. Prous Science’s headquarters remain in Barcelona. For more information, visit thomson.com. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Collegeville, Pa., a division of Wyeth, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Haptogen Ltd., Aberdeen, Scotland, enhancing its biopharmaceutical drug-discovery capabilities. Haptogen has developed a number of technologies that allow for the discovery and optimization of new protein therapeutics. These next-generation compounds have the potential for more convenient routes of administration and improved cell and organ penetration, opening the opportunity to address diseases that are not treatable with the first generation of protein therapies. Haptogen was spun out of the University of Aberdeen in 2002, and its facilities are located on the University of Aberdeen campus. Once the transaction closes, Haptogen will become part of Wyeth Discovery Research. For more information, visit wyeth.com. New Quintiles Subsidiary Provides Drug-Safety Service Quintiles Transnational Corp.’s newest subsidiary, iGuard, offers online solutions that provide patients and their physicians with timely, accurate, and personalized drug-safety information. Patients can enroll online for free at iguard.org, where they follow a simple series of steps to become part of a membership network. Patients create a secure personalized iGuard profile that includes questions about their demographics, medications, medical history, and conditions that could impact their drug-safety risks. Once the patients complete their profile, iGuard immediately sends them personalized risk ratings about the medications they take, including interactions between drugs. When an issue arises with a patient’s medication — such as side-effect warnings, warnings from the manufacturer or a medical journal, or changes in the prescription label — iGuard sends a drug safety alert to the patient and to the physicians designated in the patient’s profile. iGuard members will be asked to update their profile on a quarterly basis. Should a serious adverse event be suspected, iGuard will send a MedWatch form to the patient with instructions to give the form to the physician for completion. MedWatch is the Food and Drug Administration’s safety information and adverse event reporting program. “Consumers don’t want to be drug experts — they want a signal, an alarm, if something goes wrong,” says Hugo Stephenson, M.D., iGuard’s founder and president. “iGuard is a smoke detector for patients. It’s always working in the background collecting data that can be used to identify safety signals, thereby providing researchers with access to the de-identified iGuard database and communicating research findings back to patients based on the medications they are taking.” IMS Health and IRI Forge Consumer Health Alliance IMS Health and Information Resources (IRI) have formed a multi-year global alliance that uses their respective strengths to provide clients with fresh insights into the consumer dynamics that drive healthcare decisions. At a time when consumers increasingly are empowered to make their own healthcare decisions, the alliance provides business intelligence, analytics, and consulting expertise that establishes an integrated view of prescription medicines, over-the-counter products, and consumer packaged goods. These offerings are intended to help clients launch new products, reposition existing brands, manage sales teams and inventories, and reach the right prescribers, retailers, and consumers. The initial focus of the alliance will be on the United States and European markets. “With a truly integrated view of consumer health marketplace dynamics, our clients can make better decisions on how to identify market opportunities, optimize portfolios, and allocate resources to drive growth,” says Gilles Pajot, IMS’s chief operating officer. Campbell Alliance Launches Trade and Distribution Practice Campbell Alliance has introduced a trade and distribution practice to help clients develop strategies and address business challenges related to product distribution, maximize the effectiveness of trade programs, and work more effectively with retail and specialty pharmacies. The new practice is led by Tony Lanzone, VP at Campbell Alliance. Campbell Alliance’s trade and distribution practice has particular expertise in the areas of specialty pharmacy strategy and trade launch strategy, as well as trade market assessment and trade program analytics, among other disciplines. Johnson & Johnson Launches Global Diabetes Institute Johnson & Johnson has created the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute (JJDI), a worldwide network of centers dedicated to providing healthcare professionals with cutting-edge training in diabetes care. The institute is offering comprehensive education and training on the latest advances in tools and technologies to manage diabetes, as well as the most up-to-date practice standards and reimbursement solutions in diabetes care. J&J plans to open its first center in Japan in 2007, followed by centers in the United States, China, and France by mid-2008. J&J has named former acting U.S. Surgeon General Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., as the institute’s chairman. He is responsible for overseeing JJDI and developing other innovative programs and strategies to help the global healthcare community better address the delivery of diabetes care. Dr. Moritsugu, who has Type I diabetes, notes that the number of people with diabetes has reached crisis proportions around the globe. Diabetes currently affects more than 180 million people worldwide and is projected to double to 360 million people by 2030. “At a time when the annual direct healthcare costs for diabetes worldwide are estimated to be at least $232 billion, new strategies are needed to raise the level of care for people with diabetes, including stepped-up education and hands-on training of health professionals working at the local level,” Dr. Moritsugu says. In the sheer numbers of patients and the costs in human suffering and money spent on healthcare, diabetes has reached crisis proportions around the globe, says Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., Chairman of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute. Publicis Selling Solutions Launches Healthcare Recruiting Unit Publicis Selling Solutions Group (PSSG), a Publicis Healthcare Communications Group business, has introduced Publicis Healthcare Rxecruiting, a new division dedicated to helping pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other healthcare companies find top-quality job candidates. The new division uses a selection process that employs proprietary methodology and technological tools, such as advanced Internet recruiting strategies and conceptual mapping, to identify the needs of each client and the candidates best suited to meet them. The new unit is staffed with industry-experienced recruiters with a broad range of therapeutic and product expertise, giving them valuable insights into the needs and expectations of healthcare clients, says Steve DeMorro, VP of HR and recruiting, and managing director of Publicis Healthcare Rxecruiting. “We have experience as pharma and biotech representatives, sales managers, trainers, HR managers, and recruiters,” Mr. DeMorro says. Follow up Campbell Alliance, Raleigh, N.C., is a management consulting firm specializing in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. For more information, visit campbellalliance.com. Elsevier, New York, publishes more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of electronic products, such as ScienceDirect, MD Consult, Scopus, bibliographic databases, and online reference works. For more information, visit elsevier.com. I3, Basking Ridge, N.J., an Ingenix company, provides integrated scientific strategies and solutions throughout the pharmaceutical product life cycle and comprises: i3 Research, i3 Drug Safety, i3 Pharma Informatics, i3 Statprobe, i3 Pharma Resourcing, and i3 Innovus. For more information, visit i3global.com. IMS Health Inc., Norwalk, Conn., is a provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. For more information, visit imshealth.com. Information Resources Inc., Chicago, is a provider of consumer, shopper, and retail market information, insights, and decision solutions to companies in the consumer packaged goods, healthcare, and retail sectors. For more information, visit us.infores.com. inVentiv Health Inc., Somerset, N.J., is a provider of commercialization and complementary services to the global pharmaceutical, life-sciences, and biotechnology industries. For more information, visit inventivhealth.com. Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, N.J., manufactures healthcare products and provides related services for the consumer, pharmaceutical, and medical devices and diagnostics markets. For more information, visit jnj.com. Publicis Selling Solutions Group, Lawrenceville, N.J., offers a range of strategic selling solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical-device industries. For more information, visit psellingsolutions.com. Quintiles Transnational Corp., Research Triangle Park, N.C., provides a broad range of professional services in drug development, financial partnering, and commercialization for the biotechnology and healthcare industries. For more information, visit quintiles.com.
