Janssen starts new trial investigator databank, joined by Merck & Co and Lilly

Janssen Research & Development, a unit of health care giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) yesterday announced the establishment of a global cross-pharmaceutical Investigator Databank designed to improve efficiencies of industry-sponsored clinical trials. Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) and Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) are the first two companies to join Janssen in this effort.

The new Investigator Databank, established as part of this novel industry collaboration, will serve as a one-stop repository where key information about clinical trial sites, such as infrastructure and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training records, is housed. This will allow participating pharmaceutical companies to reduce time-consuming and sometimes redundant administrative work involved in identifying appropriate clinical trial sites. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), including all the compounds that have fallen by the way side, the cost of bringing a new drug to market has gone up from around $140 million in the 1970s to more than $1.2 billion at present.

"The current clinical trial environment is inefficient, costly and unsustainable. The Investigator Databank can help expedite the process to achieve our most important goal – to deliver high-quality, effective novel medicines to the patients who are waiting for them," said Andreas Koester, head of Clinical Trial Innovation/External Alliances at Janssen R&&D.