EPM News Update
Covance, one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive drug development services companies, joined forces with Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Eli Lilly and Company and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) at its Greenfield, Indiana, US, facility to showcase findings from PhRMA’s recently released ‘Research in Your Backyard’, a report highlighting the benefits of pharmaceutical clinical trials in Indiana.
Covance and Indianapolis-based Lilly, currently approaching the mid-point of their 10-year strategic alliance, have been collaborating on the types of innovative approaches to clinical trial research described in the PhRMA report that benefit Indiana as well as millions of patients around the globe. Covance acquired the 450-acre campus in Greenfield from Lilly in 2008 as part of the alliance and offered employment to nearly 250 Lilly employees, most of whom are still with Covance today.
Since entering the partnership five years ago, Covance has added more than 300 new jobs and seven new services, including a biorepository and Biomarker Center of Excellence, to the Greenfield site. The Covance-Lilly partnership has already resulted in accelerated drug development timelines and improved R&D efficiencies, all of which help deliver timely, valued medicines to patients. Some development cycle timelines have been reduced by as much as 50%.
“I applaud Governor Pence for fostering a life sciences environment conducive to growing business and supporting healthcare advances that bring new drugs to patients more quickly,” said Deborah Keller, Executive Vice President and Group President, R&D Laboratories at Covance. “In Greenfield alone, we have grown to serve more than 150 pharmaceutical and biotech clients. Our operations in Indiana are representative of the innovative and collaborative culture we foster with all of our clients across all of our global sites.”
Governor Pence spoke about his commitment to growing the state’s life sciences industry and fostering more collaboration between biopharmaceutical companies, universities and other organiSations. “Successful collaborations by biomedical companies such as Covance and Lilly bring us one step closer to our goal of making Indiana a global life sciences leader,” said Governor Pence.
“As a result of Lilly’s landmark partnership with Covance, more innovative research is underway in Indiana, job growth at the Greenfield Covance site has more than doubled and the number of clinical studies being done in the state is on the rise,” said Andrew Dahlem, Ph.D., Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Lilly Research Laboratories. “All of these factors contribute to an environment with growing opportunities for the state’s life sciences sector. And more importantly, they help to speed the delivery of innovative medicines to patients worldwide who are suffering from some of the most devastating diseases.”
Covance Inc., +1 609 419 2060, laurene.isip@covance.com, www.covance.com.