COVANCE TOP-RANKED BY INVESTIGATORS IN CRO INDUSTRY STUDY
Covance Cites Strong Relationships with Investigators as Key to
Bringing Medicines to Market Sooner |
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 CenterWatch Investigative Site Survey
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Princeton, New Jersey, September 25, 2003 — Covance Inc. (NYSE: CVD) was the highest-rated contract research organization (CRO) in a survey of nearly 400 U.S. clinical investigator sites conducted earlier this year by CenterWatch, a leading industry trade publication. Covance was named "best overall" CRO, repeating the top ranking it received in 1997 and in 1999. Covance's performance was rated "good" to "excellent" by 70 percent of sites, scoring significantly above the industry average of 60 percent.
Site investigators also ranked Covance in the top three in three of the five attributes they said were essential to study success, including "level of preparedness and project organization," "ability to maintain open communications," and "good protocol design." On average, sites rated Covance slightly above the CRO industry benchmark ratings in the 25 attributes covered in the survey, with 61 percent of the sites rating the company "good" to "excellent." Among the 25 attributes, Covance was ranked first in "personnel professionalism" and "project management."
"Our top ranking is indicative of the strong investigator/CRO relationships that we have worked hard to build over the years, and we appreciate that site investigators recognize how committed we remain to improving our collaborations even further," said Joe Herring, Covance President and Chief Operating Officer. "Our business is all about relationships built on trust. By working closely with site investigators and our sponsors from start to finish, we help clients get their projects done on time, including faster study start-ups, realistic patient enrollment goals, and cleaner data." Covance has worked with more than 1 million investigator sites worldwide.
"We recognize that study-site performance is the most critical element in the drug development chain, and our focus on process excellence is reflected in the strength of our site relationships," Herring said. "We have staff dedicated solely to the important processes of planning investigator meetings, and providing the appropriate training, tools, and communication channels to keep investigators and sponsors continually in the loop. We verify data as it arrives and help QC data before we send it to the sponsors to maximize the accuracy of the data. New technologies will make these processes even more efficient. We also continue to drive for operational excellence and enhanced sponsor/investigator/CRO relationships through consistent execution, continual review and improvement of our practices, and frequent client communication."
The 2003 study, which was conducted in March and April, gauged investigator sites' overall satisfaction with CROs during the past two years and evaluated CRO performance across 25 specific attributes in these categories: general project management, personnel professionalism, work style, study initiation, ongoing study support, and the grant payment process. Sites also rated the importance of individual attributes to a study's success, such as "organized and prepared," "flexible," "good overall protocol design," "timely drug availability," and "fair grant payment amounts."
Covance, with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive drug development services companies with 2002 net revenues of $883 million, global operations in 18 countries, and approximately 6,800 employees worldwide. Information on Covance's products and services, recent press releases, and SEC filings can be obtained through the website in the About Covance area. |
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