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Quintiles will share risk in development of potential oncology drugs with Eisai

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – In what a Japanese company official described as a “new strategy for development,” RTP-based Quintiles is partnering with Japan-based pharmaceutical firm Eisai to develop six potential oncology drugs.

Quintiles will invest in the partnership by underwriting some of the costs as well as designing the Phase II clinical trials for the compounds.

Based on the progress of those trials, Quintiles would receive what the companies called “success milestone payments.”

Quintiles is the world’s largest provider of services, such as clinical trials, to life science companies and also has its own investment group.

Eisai has a U.S. subsidiary based in New Jersey that operates a 170,000 square foot manufacturing as well as research and development facility in RTP. Eisai established its RTP presence in 1997 and expanded it in 2003.

“This is a significant business model and new strategy for development,” said Hideki Hayashi, senior vice president and chief product creation officer for Eisai. “We are maximizing the potential of Eisai’s oncology compounds. I am pleased that Quintiles and Eisai share the same goals and our incentives are aligned for speed, quality and efficiency. We will explore multiple indications in parallel so that we can deliver our compounds as fast, widely and appropriately as possible for cancer patients’ benefit.”

The companies hope that the alliance will determine efficacy “in the shortest possible time” and accelerate product development.

Eisai retains ownership of the compounds.

“Quintiles and Eisai are using the power of partnerships to manage risk and enable transformation in a rapidly evolving industry where the rules are changing on all fronts,” said Ron Wooten, executive vice president for corporate development at Quintiles.

“This goes beyond the traditional boundaries of the pharma business model, offering a more nimble, modular and variable way of leveraging resources to increase the value of assets,” he added.

Quintiles has been involved in 640 oncology trials since 2000.

The company noted that its recent acquisition of Targeted Molecular Diagnostics will assist in the trials through use of oncology biomarker development.

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