• Overall CRO usage by pharmaceutical companies remains high but constant. CROs are playing a significant role in a wider variety of clinical activities across research phases, most notably in all areas of site management. By adopting a multivendor approach to outsourcing, sponsors are increasing their management of combinations of focused and niche CRO service providers in order to address specific project requirements.

Article 202: Context and Outlook: Reflections on 2000

• The year 2000 will be remembered as a period of highly active market response to the opportunities inherent in a rapidly changing environment. Most of this response came from small, independent players and the academic community. As many SMOs faced slower than expected growth, AMCs and dedicated sites had their best years ever. E-technology solutions providers aggressively targeted the industry. Total spending on clinical grants to investigators grew by 18% in 2000, and the clinical trials industry took some major hits from regulatory agencies and the media this year as well.

Article 203: CentreStage Europe: Internet Resources

• With the snowballing growth of the Internet, clinical research professionals in Europe can find a web site to fulfill almost any informational need. Government agencies provide a wealth of information about published reports and new regulations. Other sites are listing contract service and company profiles, job listings and industry news. And pharmaceutical companies have begun to be more forthcoming with pipeline information.

• Over a million and a half people in the United States are thought to be affected with Parkinson's disease. Although it usually strikes people over 60, 15% of Parkinson's patients are below the age of 50. CenterWatch has identified a clinical research pipeline of approximately 23 drugs. These include drugs that have been previously approved for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and newly developed compounds. We estimate that between $125 million and $135 million was spent on the development of these drugs in the past year.