U.S. Biotech and Pharma Industry leaders gather
October 14, 2004 by admin
Filed under Company News, Company News 2004
Oct 14, 2004 – Washington DC — Novotech, Australia’s leading contract research organization (CRO), and the Australian Embassy are hosting a clinical trials and biopartnering networking event next week to showcase the considerable business opportunities for U.S. biotech and pharma in Australia.
Date: October 25, 2004
Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm (Australian food and wine to be served) Location: Australian Embassy, Washington D.C
To register for the event: Tel: (202) 797 3416 or email biotech.function@austemb.org
Novotech CEO Alek Safarian said already more than 80% of Novotech’s clients were from the U.S. pharma and biotech sector, and with the current drug trial bottleneck in the U.S., Australia was looking increasingly attractive for high-quality trials.
Clinical research trials in Australia can begin in as little as 2-3 months from the initiation of the approval process and cost up to 30% less than comparable Western countries such as the U.S. and in Europe.
Novotech is in an aggressive expansion phase to cater for the multi-million dollar U.S. clinical trials market with a new office announced last week in Brisbane, Australia, and plans for a U.S. office in the next 6 months.
“With the addition of our Brisbane office, our 4th office in the region, we have unmatched coverage on the eastern seaboard where the majority of Australian clinical research activity is concentrated,” said Safarian.
“Our U.S. clients say we win their business over competing countries and firms based on three key factors: quality, speed and price.”
“The race to complete clinical trials and drug development plans means biotech companies are increasingly taking an international perspective when deciding how, where, when they can complete their drug development programs as quickly as possible.”
In the past three years, Novotech has worked with more than 15 U.S.-based pharmaceutical and biotech companies as well as many major European pharmas.
Safarian said that in contrast to multinational CROs that merely operate an office in Australia: “we know this region inside and out.”
“We have the network, relationships and expertise to quickly get a study up and rolling in this part of the world,” Safarian said.
Australian regulatory procedures were supportive of the clinical trial process, while the patient population was similar to the U.S in terms of lifestyle and disease characteristics, and responsive to participation in leading edge clinical trials.
Safarian begins an East and West coast tour of the U.S. next week talking with biotech and pharmaceutical companies, as well as some leading biotech VC firms.
About Novotech – Unsurpassed Local Knowledge and Network:
Increasingly, U.S. companies are turning to Australia to expedite the pace, and reduce the cost, of clinical trials, while maintaining the high standard of research that U.S. authorities demand. A 2001 Ernst and Young benchmarking study found that clinical research costs may be as much as 30 percent lower in Australia than in the United States and Europe.
In addition, Australian regulatory procedures often enable a trial to begin in as little as 2-3 months from the initiation of the approval process. This compares favorably to usual timelines in major Western countries.
As the largest independent CRO in Australia, Novotech offers a level of flexibility and local knowledge that is virtually unmatched among other contract research organizations in the region. This has helped Novotech develop a strong client base in the United States and Europe.
Headquartered in Sydney, Novotech is focused on the Australian and New Zealand markets but has worldwide reach through the company’s subsidiary in the United Kingdom and through key external partnerships and strategic alliances in North America and other regions.
