Selected as U.S. prime site for Quintiles, international research giant
Clinical trial research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center is about to move to another level.
Thanks to an agreement with Quintiles, the only fully integrated bio pharmaceutical services company offering clinical, commercial, consulting and capital solutions worldwide, it is anticipated that UNMC’s clinical research will expand significantly, said Chris Kratochvil, M.D., assistant vice chancellor for clinical research at UNMC.
The agreement will make UNMC a prime site for Quintiles – one of only four such sites in the United States, and eight globally. Prime sites are large clinical institutions that collaborate with Quintiles to enhance their infrastructure for conducting clinical trials, improve efficiencies, and increase productivity.
UNMC was selected as a prime site because of its experience in conducting clinical research, its access to substantial patient populations and its clinical expertise across multiple therapeutic areas, Dr. Kratochvil said.
The agreement involves UNMC, its physician group practice, UNMC Physicians, and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center. Administratively, the agreement will be handled by UNeHealth, a not-for-profit entity established by the medical center for business purposes. Dr. Kratochvil is chief medical officer for UNeHealth.
“This is exciting news for the medical center and the region,” Dr. Kratochvil said. “We hope to eventually add between 30 to 50 new clinical trials per year at UNMC. These trials will involve a wide spectrum of patients, ranging from oncology and endocrinology to psychiatry and pediatrics.”
While Quintiles conducts research at approximately 10,000 sites internationally, it is developing strategic partnerships with a small number of prime sites, which currently include single sites in the United Kingdom, South Africa, South Korea and Malaysia, as well as the four sites in the United States. Quintiles has more than 20,000 employees in 60 countries.
Dr. Kratochvil said UNMC will not be exclusively restricted to using Quintiles for its clinical trials.
UNMC’s research has been growing exponentially in recent years. For 2009-10, UNMC brought in more than $115 million, a nearly 15 percent increase over the previous year’s total of $100 million.
“We see the arrangement with Quintiles as being an important one for the medical center,” Dr. Kratochvil said. “It will allow us to expand and develop our clinical research program and provide greater access for our patients to participate in a wide variety of clinical trials.”
There will be a designated Quintiles employee serving as the company’s dedicated liaison for Nebraska.
Dr. Kratochvil said he has already begun to link interested UNMC investigators to new clinical trials from Quintiles.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.