• Large and diversified, gloabal agencies have entered the CRO market.  IPG purchased privately held International Pharmaceutical Research, a $10 million CRO.  Omnicom has taken a $20 million minority stake in Scirex
• Agencies are backward integrating into drug discovery and development in order to offer a broader range of health care services to pharmaceutical companies.  Other agencies are expected to follow. 

• The decline of the traditional affiliation model SMO, combined with the need of sponsors and CROs to identify top performing sites, has created an opportunity for independent site alliances. 
• ISAs hope to offer lower costs, high performance and quality along with more direct interaction with clinical study staff.  One of their largest long-term challenges is bringing and keeping top sites in their membership.

Article 151 CenterStage Europe: No Advertising for Patients in Europe? Not True!

• For 1999, CenterWatch estimates that the amount of money spent on the development of Alzheimer's treatments totals $160 million, for a clinical pipeline that includes 28 drugs.