PRA International Formalizes Partnership with Oncopartners and IBPC

RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- PRA International, a leading Clinical Research Organization, announces it has entered into a partnership agreement with Oncopartners, a leading Latin American oncology development company, and its exclusive partner IBPC, a non-profit oncology research network comprised of Brazil's largest public oncology hospitals which collectively treat an estimated 140,000 new incidences of cancer annually.  Under terms of the agreement PRA and Oncopartners will align and streamline key operational processes, thereby accelerating the planning, start-up and accrual of oncology trials in Latin America, leading to faster overall drug development timelines.   The partnership agreement between PRA and Oncopartners also provides for exclusive co-marketing and co-promotion of outsourced global oncology trials in the pre-award phase of the studies.

"PRA, as a global leader in oncology clinical development, constantly seeks innovative ways to help our sponsor clients develop drugs more quickly and efficiently, while maintaining the highest quality standards," said Kent Thoelke, Senior Vice President, Scientific & Medical Affairs, PRA. "As drug development timelines continue to be delayed globally due to lack of, or slow patient accrual, this alliance with Oncopartners and IBPC provides PRA with expanded access to patients and Brazil's leading investigators.  This partnership between Oncopartners and PRA will translate into faster study start-up, more productive development process, and shorter overall clinical trial timelines for our clients. We are pleased to announce that we are currently initiating study start-up activities on our first two collaborative studies with Oncopartners/IBPC."

"Brazil's public cancer hospitals provide care for an estimated 70 percent of Brazil's population of 190 million, and the IBPC research network provides enhanced treatment and clinical outcomes for these patients while streamlining the performance of important international clinical trials," according to Michael Choukas, President of Oncopartners.   "PRA is at the forefront of innovation in oncology clinical trials management, and our partnership represents a joint initiative to improve overall study start-up times, patient accrual and data quality metrics for our collaborative trials relative to current performance benchmarks," said Choukas.

The unique clinical research model and capabilities developed by Oncopartners and IBPC will bring a number of benefits to PRA's sponsors under the terms of the partnership being announced today:

• Rapid and comprehensive assessment of study suitability (medical, regulatory, ethical) and feasibility in IBPC public hospital network.
• Accelerated, efficient study start-up with centralized management of ethics committees, regulatory dossiers, study budget and contract management (hospital, PI, sponsor).
• Rapid patient accrual with high protocol compliance and data quality.
• An internationally experienced team of medical and clinical oncology experts with a passion for quality and a commitment to building a high performing collaboration model with responsiveness and flexibility

"Our IBPC mission is to bring more clinical trials to Brazil with enhanced treatment options for patients in our public hospitals.  The partnership with PRA will help us achieve this important goal," said Dr. Cid Gusmao, Co-Founder and President of IBPC.  "The close working relationships IBPC and Oncopartners have developed with IBPC member sites, investigators and their research staffs will provide PRA and its research sponsors unrivaled access and capabilities to perform more trials, with better enrollment and data quality, at Brazil's leading public and academic research centers," said Gusmao.

"Oncology drug development is a global undertaking, and having expanded access to patients in Latin America is vital to any development program," added PRA's Thoelke.

To learn how the PRA-Oncopartners/IBPC alliance can aid your drug development efforts, please contact PRA International at [email protected] or call our Global Headquarters at +1 (919) 786-8200 or an Oncopartners representative at (603) 727-7300.

About PRA International

PRA International conducts clinical trials in more than 78 countries across 6 continents and provides services through all phases of clinical development. PRA performs studies in all therapeutic areas, with specialization in oncology, neurosciences, respiratory/allergy, cardiovascular and infectious diseases. PRA has supported over 2,100 clinical trials through its 36 global offices.

PRA's therapeutic expertise, global reach and project experience, combined with extensive local knowledge and our differentiating PERSONAL ELEMENT enable our project teams to deliver consistent and on time performance for our clients. This unique PRA philosophy - THE PERSONAL ELEMENT - recognizes that true client service comes only from trained, empowered and dedicated employees who are encouraged to use innovation and their personal commitment to accelerate the development lifecycle.

To learn more about PRA International, please visit www.PRAinternational.com, email [email protected] or call our Global Headquarters at +1 (919) 786-8200.

About Oncopartners

Oncopartners is an oncology development company which provides well-managed access to public oncology hospitals and patients in Brazil.  Working with the IBPC network of public oncology hospitals, Oncopartners offers expert medical, operational and site support services to enhance patient enrollment and data quality for Phase II, III and IV clinical programs.  Founded in 2007, Oncopartners has developed a robust centralized and on-site infrastructure to optimize the performance of the IBPC sites.  For further information, please visit our website at www.oncopartners.com, e-mail [email protected] or call us at 917-940-6464.

About IBPC

IBPC- Instituto Brasileiro de Pesquisa em Cancer, is a non-profit research network currently comprised of 23 of Brazil's leading public cancer hospitals.  IBPC has been granted OSCIP status, Brazil's most favored tax exempt NGO status, which conveys special access and benefits to IBPC in working with its member public sites.  IBPC founders and principal investigators are leaders in Brazil's most prestigious academic, public and private oncology centers and are internationally experienced and recognized oncology investigators.   The IBPC member sites collectively treat an estimated 140,000 new incidences of cancer annually.  For further information about IBPC, please visit our website, www.ibpcancer.org.br  or call us at 55-11-2198-0500.

SOURCE PRA International