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Synexus wins Pfizer's favor for South African trials

Patient-recruitment specialist Synexus has won a place in Pfizer's ($PFE) stable of preferred providers, giving the company advance information about future clinical trials and a leg up on other outsourcers.

Synexus' South African sites in Stanza, Watermeyer and Nyeleti have all been added to Pfizer's INSPIRE network, which stands for Investigator Networks, Site Partnerships and Infrastructure for Research Excellence. The company's Wrocław, Poland, facility is already on the list.

Sanet Aspinall, managing director of Synexus South Africa, said winning Pfizer's favor is the result of hard work in the country and affirmation of Synexus' abilities in patient recruitment.

"We have had to go through an exhaustive assessment program which looked at our previous experience, expertise across a range of therapeutic areas, infrastructure and resources and effective recruitment strategies," Aspinall said in a statement. "This is not only excellent for our company but for South Africa, as it shows that it is a very good place in which to carry out clinical trials."

For Pfizer, a company that has hacked deep into its R&D budget over the past year, identifying reliable partners is of utmost importance as it works to advance clinical programs without breaking the bank.

"We put in place the INSPIRE program so that we can work with the best sites across the world," Pfizer site development head Tebogo Sebata said in a statement. "Centers which have real expertise in the science of clinical trials, the infrastructure support that is necessary, proven recruitment strategies and the in depth knowledge can help us maximize our development programs going forward."

- read the announcement