Article 112: Make Room for Study Brokers

• Reporting strong annual growth in clinical contracts, study brokers are seeing a high level of interest from sponsors and CROs seeking alternatives to the traditional SMO.
• Their long-term viability hinges on providing sponsors with top performing sites and in not losing their influence as middlemen.

Article 113: Quintiles Separates from the Pack

• The top tier of CROs may winnow down to two or three large firms as 1999 is expected to be a busy year for acquisitions. But, will other CROs chase Quintiles to achieve size parity in both core and new services?
  
• Freed up to make poolings transactions, Covance could solidify its position as the second largest CRO or close the gap with Quintiles. However, Covance is unlikely to acquire healthcare informatics or contract sales capabilities.

Article 114: Centralized AMCs Growing Steadily

• An update on the experience of academic medical centers following their initial efforts to centralize core study conduct services.

Article 115: Eye on Sexual Dysfunction

• A discussion of recently approved drugs and treatments being studied for sexual dysfunction. CenterWatch editorial has identified 19 drugs in the clinical testing pipeline.