Biogen Idec named top sponsor in CenterWatch survey

Biogen Idec has been named the top sponsor in the latest CenterWatch survey.

Forest Laboratories came in second place, while Bayer finished third in the company's bi-annual 2013 Global Investigative Site Relationship survey.

Biogen Idec collected the highest average rating across 36 relationship attributes, while Novo Nordisk and Takeda Pharmaceutical were tied together in fourth place, and Boehringer-Ingelheim and Gilead Sciences ended up fifth.

The study indicated that sites are frustrated with not having direct input into running clinical trials more efficiently and boosting operational issues from patient recruitment strategies to the utilisation of technology at premises.

Joan Chambers, chief operating officer of CenterWatch, said: "Sites clearly want to voice their opinions and share insights with sponsors and CROs on areas in which progress has been made along with areas that may need improvement.

"Sponsors and CROs take this feedback very seriously given its importance to successful global clinical trial performance."

The research was completed during November and December 2012, as well as January 2013, with principal investigators and study staff being requested to rate the sponsors they had worked with over the course of the past two years.

Assessment criteria included study planning and innovativeness, with 22 sponsors boasting sufficient sample sizes being included in the work.

As well as being named among the top sponsors in the survey, Bayer recently announced that all of its financial targets were achieved in 2012.

Its sales increased 8.8 per cent to €39.760 million (£34.25 million), placing them at their highest level in the company's 150-year history.

Bayer's gain in emerging markets stood at 7.4 per cent, meaning it was twice as large as the results in industrialised countries.

Bayer chief executive Dr Marijn Dekkers has stated the company has continued to "grow dynamically", adding that he expects its development to go into 2013 and beyond.

Posted by Ben Evans