Early phase clinical development company lends its proof of concept spin-off a key member of staff
Carole Kenyon, operations director of early phase clinical development company Pharmaceutical Profiles, has been appointed by new venture Biovu as its chief operating officer. Nottingham-based Biovu will co-ordinate proof of concept studies either at its own clinical research facility or through a network of research sites in the UK, working directly with hospitals and consultants.
Dr Kenyon's role with Pharmaceutical Profiles will continue, as Biovu will utilise state-of-the-art imaging technology, such as an Adac Forte dual-headed gamma camera, and expertise from the company to assess the effectiveness of new products in patients.
She brings more than ten years experience working on Phase I clinical imaging studies and three years experience with Phase IIa studies and has specific expertise in the therapeutic areas of gastroenterology and respiratory disease.
Looking forward to the future, she explained: "The challenge is to launch the new venture, set introduce an appropriate infrastructure to provide this brand new service offering and put image-based patient studies on the map." "A certain amount of education will be necessary to encourage the pharmaceutical industry to introduce a new step in the early clinical development of a novel therapeutic agent. Undertaking a proof-of-concept study with Biovu will provide key data to facilitate pivotal 'go/no go' decisions of whether to progress beyond a Phase IIa study into the more expensive Phase IIb / III studies or to terminate development early and save time and money." "We do believe there is a unique market opportunity for Biovu to provide this vital decision-making information on the viability of products in patients.
Proof-of-concept studies conducted at the right time could help save millions of dollars in wasted development costs." Biovu will focus on targeted therapeutics and with the huge growth in the oncology market will investigate the effectiveness of targeted oncology products and in particular examine the innovative classes of oncology products, including monoclonal antibodies.
Targeted treatment of cancer is believed to be of particular benefit to the patient since many current therapies can produce undesirable side-effects.
Improved targeting should minimise this improving quality of life for patients.
