Upfront

Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation’s Endurance Cycling Event

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), a world-recognized leader in cancer research, has launched the third installment of its annual endurance cycling program, Road to Victories. The Road to Victories Team consists of 30 cyclists, including eight myeloma patients and a myeloma doctor and nurse. The group began the six-day ride on Sept. 17, 2019, with each rider committed to covering nearly 350 miles from Vermont to Quebec, a cumulative distance of more than10,000 miles.

The event, sponsored by Janssen Oncology for the third year in a row, has raised more than $1.5 million since the program began in 2017. One hundred percent of the funds raised through Road to Victories go directly to the MMRF’s efforts to accelerate next-generation treatments via their groundbreaking precision medicine research model.

Market Size for CROs Expected to Grow

The global market for clinical research organizations (CRO) is estimated to be $40 billion to $41 billion, growing at a compound annual group rate of 6.9%, according to Beroe, a procurement intelligence firm. The high demand is due to the increased outsourcing adopted by the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with 85% covered by the clinical segment.

North America and Europe hold more than 80% of the CRO market as the pharmaceutical industry spends 70% and 18% of their clinical trial R&D in these regions, respectively.

Cancer Drugs Account for 27% of New Drug Approvals in the U.S.

Cancer drugs currently account for 27% of all new drug approvals in the United States since 2010, a dramatic increase from the 4% share of the 1980s, according to an analysis from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.
Other findings:

Clinical development time for cancer drug approvals during 1999 to 2018 was 9% longer compared with non-cancer drugs.

Regulatory approval phase time for cancer approvals during 1999 to 2018 was 48% shorter on average vs. non-cancer approvals.

Total clinical development and approval phase times during 1999 to 2018 was 17% longer on average for hematologic drugs (8.8 years) compared with drugs for solid tumors (7.5 years).

BMS Employees Embark on Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer Ride

More than 100 Bristol-Myers Squibb’s U.S. employees showed their commitment to cancer research by participating in the company’s annual Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer ride, a nearly 3,000-mile cycling relay that benefits the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
For the sixth year in a row, Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer began in Cannon Beach, Oregon, with each team of novice cyclists riding for three days until they finished the journey on September 24 in Long Branch, New Jersey. The riders strove to reach their goal of raising more than $1 million for the V Foundation. Bristol-Myers Squibb will match donations, dollar-for-dollar, up to $500,000.

J&J Releases Inaugural Diversity & Inclusion Review

Through collaborative achievements and personal stories, Johnson & Johnson’s Diversity & Inclusion Impact Review explores how the collective wisdom and commitment to inclusion of the 135,000 employees power the company’s spirit, and serve patients, customers, and consumers every day.

For example, J&J has made a strategic shift in its approach to clinical trials, focusing efforts on educating diverse communities about the importance of participating. In the company’s ongoing LOTUS trial for Lupus, 38% of participants to date are from underrepresented groups, compared with the industry average of 12%. J&J spends $1 billion annually to support women and minority-owned businesses as part of the company’s role on the Billion Dollar Roundtable. Additionally, more than 105,000 of the company’s employees across the globe have completed unconscious bias training, including 95% of managers and more than 85% of the company’s total employees.

Sniffing Out Parkinson’s Disease with Parkinscents

Every year, 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. One of the earliest signs of Parkinson’s disease is loss of the sense of smell. Commonly affected scents are peppermint, anise, and coffee.

On National Coffee Day, McCann Health New York set out to make coffee a powerful tool in early Parkinson’s detection. The agency partnered with coffee shops across America and created characters to address the importance of early diagnosis. With coffee sleeves, lids, posters, tent cards, coasters and an interactive website, people were able to learn the signs of Parkinson’s and when it may be time to see a doctor. (PV)

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Awards…

Staffing Industry Analysts Recognizes Advanced Clinical
Advanced Clinical, a clinical research services organization, has been recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) as one of the largest life-sciences staffing firms in the United States for the sixth consecutive year. The companies named to the 2019 list were selected and ranked based on staffing revenue reported, with Advanced Clinical placing among the top 10 at number seven.

Biogen and Regeneron Ranked on Dow Jones Sustainability World Index
Biogen has been ranked the No. 1 biotechnology company on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the fourth time, after being the first U.S.-based biotech company to ever make the list in 2013. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was added to the DJSI World for the first time. DJSI World recognizes the top 10% of companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index for their long-term commitment to environmental, social and governance performance.

ERT Named Health IT Innovator of the Year
ERT, a global data and technology company that minimizes uncertainty and risk in clinical trials, has been named the Health IT Innovator of the Year by the Pittsburgh Technology Council. ERT has been recognized for its suite of innovative clinical trial solutions that pharmaceutical researchers rely on to determine the safety and effectiveness of new medical treatments.

Rho Named to Best Places to Work by Triangle Business Journal
Rho, a full-service CRO, has named the company a winner of the Best Places to Work award by Triangle Business Journal. The award recognizes Rho’s achievements in creating a positive work environment that attracts and retains employees through a combination of benefits, working conditions and company culture.

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Woman of the Week Podcast Series

October

Peyton Howell, Executive VP and Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer, Parexel
Dr. Jessica Scott, Head of R&D Patient Engagement Office, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
Dr. Gwen Nichols, Chief Medical Officer, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Dr. Sophia Ononye, Founder and CEO, The Sophia Consulting Firm
Dr. Ahnal Purohit, Founder and CEO, Purohit Navigation

Sponsored by Ogilvy Health

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PharmaVOICE 100 News

Veeva Systems Acquires Crossix Solutions
Veeva Systems, a leader in cloud-based software for life-sciences industry, has agreed to acquire Crossix Solutions, a leader in privacy-safe patient data and analytics, for $430 million in cash. In addition, certain Crossix employees received long-term equity retention grants valued at about $120 million in the aggregate.

"Veeva’s acquisition of Crossix is great for our customers and employees. It allows Crossix to join a proven technology leader and advance our solutions for the industry,"says Crossix CEO Asaf Evenhaim.

Mr. Evenhaim is a PharmaVOICE 100 — 2012, 2019.

Oncolytics Biotech’s Matt Coffey, Honored with Scientific Achievement
Oncolytics Biotech’s President and CEO Matt Coffey, Ph.D., was presented with the Scientific Achievement and Innovation Award by BioAlberta, the province’s life-sciences industry association. BioAlberta recognized several industry leaders for their innovation and achievements during its annual AGM, Awards Gala and Industry Showcase at the Westin Edmonton.

Dr. Coffey is a PharmaVOICE 100 — 2007.

J. Knipper and Co. and Court Square Capital Partner for Recapitalization
J. Knipper and Company, one of the largest suppliers of end-to-end pharmaceutical samples management services, and Court Square Capital Partners, a middle market private equity firm, have announced a recapitalization of the company and its affiliate KnippeRx, an independent specialty pharmacy. The Knipper family is selling its majority shares after 33 years of ownership, and will remain as a minority owner of the company.
As a result of the recapitalization, Court Square appointed Michael Laferrera as the new CEO and Frank McNicholas as chief operating officer in addition to his chief financial officer responsibilities.

“From the company’s humble beginning 33 years ago, our mission has been to deliver exceptional client service, improve patients’ lives, and to be a great place for our employees to work,"says James Knipper, founder, owner, and outgoing CEO of J. Knipper and Co.

Jim Knipper is a PharmaVOICE 100 — 2009, 2018.
Michael Laferrera is a PharmaVOICE 100 — 2008.

IQVIA Names New R&DS Chief Digital Officer
Nagaraja Srivatsan joins IQVIA as senior VP and chief digital officer, R&DS Technology Solutions. In his new role, Srivatsan is responsible for driving growth and leading product development and operations of R&DS technologies.

Before joining IQVIA, he served as executive VP and chief growth officer at EXL where he developed the company’s digital intelligence offerings.

Srivatsan is a PharmaVOICE 100 — 2010.

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Podcasts:

Precision Marketing for a New Era of Precision Medicine
Sponsored by: Cardinal Health

Videos:

PharmaVOICE at Digital Pharma East –
with Mark Miller, Deloitte Consulting

PharmaVOICE at Digital Pharma East –
with David Shronk, Health Union

PharmaVOICE at Digital Pharma East –
with Bryan O’Malley, Fingerpaint

Webinars:

OnDemand: Pharma’s Digital Disruptor — How Virtual Trials are Transforming the Clinical Research Experience
Sponsored by: IQVIA

Understanding the Interplay Between Medicaid and 340B
Sponsored by: Manatt Health

OnDemand: Digital Health: Disruptive Technology or Just a Disruption?
Sponsored by: Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

OnDemand: Best Practices for Launching a Successful and Compliant Clinical Nurse Educator Program
Sponsored by: VMS Biomarketing

White Papers:

Does Your Brand Need Behavioral Science?
Provided by: MicroMass Communications

50-State Survey: State Medicaid Programs and 340B (infographic)
Provided by: Manatt Health

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PharmaVOICE @IndustryEvents

2019 NORD Summit Breaks Records with Largest Attendance Ever
More than 900 registrants gathered in Washington, D.C., in November for the 2019 Rare Diseases & Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit. The impactful two days included unforgettable keynotes, powerful panels, breakout sessions, and networking.

The NORD Summit is one of the largest and most innovative multi-stakeholder events of its kind, drawing together participants from across the rare disease community, including patient advocacy groups, government, industry and academia to discuss the most current and urgent topics related to rare diseases and orphan products. The 2019 theme focused on why “The Time is Now" to drive innovation, collaboration, advocacy, and research. Keynote speeches were informative and inspiring, with speakers including CDER’s Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives Theresa Mullin, Ph.D., and FDA Acting Director Ned Sharpless, M.D. An impassioned keynote speech was delivered by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, the highest ranking government official ever to speak at a NORD Summit.

“Effective treatments are often hard to come by, requiring years of expensive maintenance therapies," Secretary Azar said. “When successful therapies are developed, they’re not cheap. We need to ensure that Americans who suffer from rare diseases have ways to finance their care–while also making sure that our financing system can support innovation toward the cures we need."

For more general information, visit nordsummit.org.

2nd Annual HLTH Conference
HLTH held its second annual conference at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in October. With more than 7,000 attendees, the goal is to provide a large-scale forum for collaboration across senior leaders from established payers, providers, employers, and pharma services, as well as from disruptive startups, prolific investors, representatives from government, academia, health associations, business groups, media, and analysts. The event has a unique marketplace for the key stakeholders leading the dialogue and development of a new health ecosystem. HLTH’s mission is to be a catalyst to drive substantial reductions in health costs and dramatic increases in health quality. Next year’s event is Oct. 11-14, 2020, Ceasars Forum, Las Vegas. For more information, visit https://hlth.com/

Life Sciences Future
Life Sciences Future – BioPharm brought together those in the industry in the Mid-Atlantic region to focus on timely topics in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields. Keynote speaker Dr. David Fajgenbaum, author of Chasing My Cure, shared his journey with Castleman disease and his efforts to create Castleman Disease Collaborative Network, a global organization dedicated to accelerating research and treatment for this deadly hyperinflammatory disorder.

DPharm: Disruptive Innovations
Former FDA head Dr. Scott Gottlieb delivered a keynote address on modernizing clinical trials and more than 20 pharma companies reported on specific innovations they have developed to better deliver new medicines. Discussions covered virtual trials, digital applications, real-world data, big data management, AI applications, MAPs, EHR eSource operations, patient-centric strategies, new business models, collaborations and technologies.

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