CRO giant Parexel International ($PRXL) has expanded its Rolodex of clinical trial sites to more than 180 around the world, a network the company says allows it to more quickly find patients for studies.
Recruitment can be one of the costliest factors in running a clinical trial, Parexel said, and difficulties in the process delay roughly 80% of studies by one to 6 months, according to the company.
That underscores the importance of having a wide span of sites from which to draw, Parexel said, and the company has been continually growing its network, now tapping more than 6,000 global investigators.
"Parexel has developed a strategic and relationship-driven approach to address one of the most critical challenges in the clinical trials journey--the patient enrollment process," Vice President Paul Evans said in a statement. "Through our site alliance network, we're better able to help pharmaceutical companies improve patient enrollment and accelerate the pace of clinical trials--making it possible to reduce time to market."
Meanwhile, Parexel has dimmed its expectations for fiscal 2015 after some disappointing sales and currency exchange hindrances. The CRO is expecting about $2 billion in fiscal 2015 revenue, a roughly 2% reduction from the $2.1 billion it forecast back in October.
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