Quintiles Expects Increase In Phase IV Business Following Vioxx Withdrawal
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
The company could see an “uptick” in late-phase study contracts based on internal initiatives and market dynamics from the Vioxx withdrawal, CFO Ratliff tells analysts.
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Quintiles expects that its Phase IV and late-phase clinical trial business will benefit from Merck's withdrawal of Vioxx , Chief Financial Officer John Ratliff told analysts Nov. 12. "We do believe that there could be an uptick" in Phase IV and late-phase study contracts due to the Vioxx withdrawal, Ratliff said. "We are seeing a fair amount of activity there," he added. "It's not like that…in the last three weeks, that there's been a huge influx, but clearly based on the initiatives that we have actually initiated with respect to that area, as well as what is happening out in the marketplace, you could see an uptick there." The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a hearing Nov. 18 to examine FDA's and Merck's post-market adverse event monitoring (1 (Also see "Senate Vioxx Hearing To Include Merck’s Gilmartin, FDA’s Crawford" - Pink Sheet, 10 Nov, 2004.)). - Andrew Kasper |