Over the years, technology, innovations and dedicated experts have been trying to change the way clinical trial works. As a result of their dedication and work, the future of clinical trials is now. Organizations like Parexel International—a company that provides services to help life sciences and biopharmaceutical clients transform scientific discoveries into new treatment—are committed to creating innovations that make this research accessible to more people. Headquartered in Massachusetts, US, the company has been privately owned by Pamplona Capital Management since 2017. It partners with drug manufacturers and medical device companies throughout the product development and commercialization process.

Parexel supports the development of innovative new medicines to improve the health of patients. The company provide services to help life sciences and biopharmaceutical clients from decentralized clinical trials to regulatory consulting services to leveraging real world insights. “From at-home care options to decentralized clinical trial services to direct-to-patient shipments of drug products, we are making trials more accessible to more patients in ways that work best for them,” explains Jamie Macdonald, CEO, Parexel International Corporation.

Transforming Discoveries

Parexel is focused on the development of innovative new therapies to improve the world’s health. By providing a suite of groundbreaking biopharmaceutical development services the company help customers across the globe transform scientific discoveries into new treatments for patients. From clinical trial design to regulatory and consulting services to commercial and market access, their therapeutic, technical, and functional ability is underpinned by a deep conviction. “We deliver DCTs with patients at the heart of our approach. Our fully virtual and hybrid DCTs (inclusive of home nursing) demonstrate the Parexel Promise – our commitment to treating patients and caregivers as an essential part of our team of clinical research organization experts,” adds McDonald.

Parexel’s Clinical Research Services are driven by the Parexel Promise. Which is more than just a promise, it’s a commitment to keep patients and their insights at the heart of everything they do. So, the clients feel like they’re one of Parexel’s team of experts. What makes this possible is the company’s Patient Innovation Center that works to reduce barriers to patient participation for more engagement, higher recruitment and retention, better data, and reduced timelines. Furthermore, all Parexel clinical studies are done in accordance with ICH Clinical Practice (GCP) which is an international ethical and scientific quality standard for the conduct of trials. The company also follow the regulatory guidelines set by the country that the study is being conducted in. By volunteering for a Parexel clinical research trial, clinics are not only helping to benefit the wider community through the development of better medicines, and also be paid for the time and any inconvenience.

Whatever the size or scope of a client’s study is, Parexel provides the comprehensive clinical development services required, from First-in-Human through Phase IV and post-marketing follow-through. The company also have the regulatory expertise, clinical trial operations management, payer and market access planning, medical education, and communications capabilities to see their customer journey through efficiently and effectively.

The company’s clinical trial supplies and logistics team put their hearts into making sure the right supplies get to the right people at the right time. No matter the complexities or locational challenges, Parexel’s team solve logistical challenges before they become a problem. As they operate globally, the team have a deep understanding of the specifics of operating between countries – navigating everything from customs to local delivery. This end-to-end clinical logistics management makes use of industry-leading supply chain tools to find every opportunity for a more efficient, compliant clinical trial.

A Winning Culture

As one of the world’s leading global clinical research organizations (CRO), Paraxel provide the clinical development capabilities and integrated consulting expertise it takes to streamline development every step of the way faster and more cost-effectively. From decentralized clinical trials to regulatory consulting services and leveraging real-world insights, the company’s therapeutic, technical, and functional ability is underpinned by a patient-first culture embedded in the Paraxel DNA. On a closer view, what drives the company is its team’s deep conviction in what they do. Together with its customers, Paraxel’s teams are shaping the next generation of therapies, one patient at a time. “Each of us, no matter what we do at Parexel, contributes to the development of a therapy that ultimately will benefit a patient. We take our work personally, we do it with empathy and we’re committed to making a difference .From the smallest detail to the largest, we take quality seriously. We focus in on the detail while never losing sight of the big picture to drive the best possible outcome.”

At Paraxel, the team recognize and uphold the importance of all people, the way they do things, the quest for innovation and most importantly, its patients. “We follow our hearts, we do the right thing and we have the courage to own the outcome.”

With a focus on streamlining CRO operations for its clients, Paraxel also has the Paraxel academy. Parexel Academy education and learning solutions blend theory and practice at the highest level – latest scientific, practical, and market insights from industry experts. It works with a mission to support clinical facilities and organizations in developing industry-leading capabilities that impact patient lives. Parexel proudly supports the Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and informing the public, patients, medical/research communities, the media, and policy makers about clinical research and the role each party plays in the process.

Driving Innovation in CRO

While innovations across many industry sectors are driving better returns and more efficiency at lower costs, this is not the case with pharmaceutical drug development. To galvanize action on this critical issue, Parexel commissioned the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to gather and interpret hard evidence of the impact of selected innovations against specific success metrics, and also to assess the most powerful enabling factors around the adoption of innovation for the industry. This project is distinctive in publicly quantifying the impact of the most promising innovations in drug development and market access. The study aims to stimulate broad discussion on how the industry can evolve to support these drug development innovations.

The company initially focused on supporting German and Japanese pharmaceutical firms but has expanded and now has clients in more than 100 countries worldwide. Parexel partnered with data-focused marketing technology company Datavant earlier in September this year. The aim of the partnership is to enhance its clinical study design and capacity by allowing the linking of healthcare data from different sources. “We’re proud of our 18,000 colleagues worldwide whose passion and commitment have made these efforts possible and have made a difference for patients every day. Our performance in the ISR survey is an important validation of their work and Parexel’s ability to differentiate and deliver on our Patients-First focus.”

Another achievement of the company is that Parexel was named “Best Contract Research Organization” in December 2020 by an independent panel for Informa Pharma Intelligence. “This award belongs to our exceptionally talented staff—the people working tirelessly to deliver critical insights for our customers and improve patient outcomes,” said Macdonald. “We are honored to be recognized as the industry’s Best CRO by Scrip and even more pleased to see our industry—in the face of a global pandemic—take this opportunity to accelerate the adoption of a real-world, data-driven approach to clinical trial design to bring new therapies to patients sooner,” he concludes.

“From at-home care options to decentralized clinical trial services to direct-to-patient shipments of drug products, we are making trials more accessible to more patients in ways that work best for them”

Jamie Macdonald
Management 
CEO
parexel.com