The cost of research for new drugs has almost tripled over the last 25 years and new models are emerging to face these increasing expenses. Multinational pharmaceutical companies are deriving an even larger share of their revenues from biotech acquisitions or external discovery, and an increasing focus is put on clinical development operational improvements and optimization.
Novotech is internationally recognized as the leading regional full-service contract research organization (CRO) in Asia-Pacific and is dedicated to supporting biotech companies in their drug development by tapping into the benefits of the region. With a focus on clinical monitoring, it has been instrumental in the success of hundreds of Phase I - IV clinical trials in the Asia Pacific region.
Headquartered in Sydney, Novotech has been delivering CRO services in the region for more than 23 years. It has offices in twelve countries, including two customer facing offices in the US, and more than 550 staff to accommodate increased demand from international biotech companies for specialist clinical services.
Strong Focus on Asia-Pacific with a Global Reach
Novotech delivers clinical development services across all clinical trial phases and therapeutic areas. These include feasibility assessments, ethics committee and regulatory submissions, data management, statistical analysis, medical monitoring, safety services, central lab services, report write-up to ICH requirements, and project and vendor management. The company’s strong Asia Pacific presence allows them to run clinical trials in all key regional markets. It also has worldwide reach through the company’s network of strategic partners.
Full Service for Biotechnology Companies
Novotech is known as the leading regional CRO in the Asia-Pacific region and the biotech sector. The company and its employees have won numerous awards and recognitions in the CRO industry over the last several years and has been dedicated to delivering consistently high-quality service for its clients. In addition, the company ensures that the customer satisfaction is closely and objectively monitored across a range of KPIs throughout the lifespan of each project.
Speaking of what sets them apart in today’s highly competitive global world, Dr. John Moller, the CEO of Novotech, said, “Novotech is focused on delivering world-class clinical services in the Asia-Pacific region for the biotech sector. We offer the very latest in Oracle and Medidata technology, and all our projects are measured on quality of service and customer satisfaction throughout every stage of our engagement.”
The customers of the company value its leadership as a regional CRO specialist, who can understand local cultures, customs, regulations, and have developed deep relationships with the key investigators in the region. Novotech follows a unique strategy for all its clients’ projects. When discussing a new potential project with a client, the company brings in its senior clinical staff, country managers, and potentially investigators into the discussions as early as possible. Through this, it ensures that the sponsor can gain the confidence that their project will receive the attention they may not otherwise have with global CRO players.
In addition to this, Novotech has a significant focus on appointing and retaining the best people and is strongly passionate about developing its employees. In fact, in the year of 2018, 30% of the company’s employees were promoted.
Focused on Client Satisfaction
Novotech has implemented a systematic mechanism of monitoring customer and investigator satisfaction across a range of items. It has invested in new technology and established clear processes to systematically reach out to its customers after key milestones for each project. The company finds this initiative very important as it nurtures relationships with its clients to address potential issues well in advance and ensures continuous improvement in the services it provides. Validating the success of this approach is Novotech’s excellent levels of client satisfaction - mostly 8 and 9 out of 10 - and especially project communications which consistently scores above 9 out of 10.
Following are some feedback comments from Novotech clients.
“We’re delighted with the way our project was managed. The structure of having the study team together with the governance team was effective. The team was very responsive, and issues were resolved within expected timeframes.” - Senior Clinical Project Manager of a Swiss Biotech company
Key Highlights of 2018
Novotech’s acquisition of Australia specialist CNS last year was one of the major milestones in its journey. This acquisition has further strengthened Novotech’s presence in the region and has allowed the company to offer all clients a ‘BioDesk,’ capability that provides early stage product development advice including toxicology, CMC and FDA/EMA regulatory consulting.
Moreover, Asia-Pacific was the fastest growing region for biotech-sponsored trials again last year, with an increase of about 35% compared with 2017. In the year 2018, Novotech maintained its focus on bringing in and retaining the best people, nurturing relationships with clients, investigators and partners, and brand development initiatives. The organization also made an important investment in relation to technology improvements with the next generation of Oracle’s Trial Management system.
Novotech has further reinforced its position of leading CRO for the biotech sector in the Asia-Pacific region in 2018 with a very strong performance in key markets such as ANZ, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea where Novotech estimates its market share has increased to over 30% in key territories.
Foundational Values
Values are the roots of any company. The core values lay the foundation of an organization and helps define its vision and shape its culture. Novotech abides by the following values:
- Performance Passion – According to Novotech, an attitude of making it happen drives a dedicated focus on engagement, quality, accountability, and performance results
- Open Engagement – Novotech’s style of working recognizes the value of everyone involved
- Uncompromised Integrity – It follows the belief that one should never to hesitate to say or do the right thing
- Unlocking Talent - Novotech seeks and nurtures people with exceptional talent Novotech’s Take on latest Developments
Novotech believes that clinical data quality is considered the key priority for 2019. According to a recent survey conducted by J.P. Morgan amongst life sciences’ investors this is especially true given the increasing complexity of trials and trial designs.
Novotech has driven an increasing investment in upfront clinical development strategy, including the use of carefully designed protocols. These include multi-arm, multi-stage designs with adaptive randomization. According to Novotech, an efficient approach to clinical trial design will have the greatest impact in containing the escalating cost of drug development. It also believes that the effectiveness of clinical trials also relies on the selection of the right investigators and excellence in CRO study management. The company, therefore, invests heavily in building formal partnerships with major hospitals and medical specialist sites through formal site partnership agreements, as well as site management services which facilitate rapid start-up activities and patient recruitment to meet the sponsor’s goals.
Bringing in More for a Better Tomorrow
With biotech companies investing in more complex and global programs, Novotech sees that biotech sponsors are increasingly considering locations outside of the US for their trials, such as Eastern Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company’s clinical staff numbers have grown by more than 20% in Asia over the last quarter of 2018 and 50% over the last twelve months. This growth in the number of staff members is fuelled by demand for a regional CRO with international accreditation and reputation, combined with local knowledge, partnerships, and expertise in the region. Furthermore, the company’s initiative of integration of capabilities, such as BioDesk, will bring tremendous support to biotech companies looking for global regulatory services.