In a deal that adds to its hefty workload for leading biopharma clients, Cognizant has partnered with Biogen ($BIIB) to provide its SmartTrials clinical trial data management suite for the Big Biotech.
With the move, the global IT firm will help Biogen manage its clinical trials, providing a “centralized information hub” to facilitate communications and allow easier decision-making, the company said in a statement.
Further, Biogen will get a system that “makes it easier for users and decision makers to more effectively monitor clinical trial progress, reduce risk and costs, with the goal of bringing new therapies to market faster,” Bhaskar Sambasivan, VP of Life Sciences at Cognizant, said in a statement.
Cognizant now serves 28 out of 30 top pharma players, 9 out of 10 top biotechs and 12 out of 15 leading device firms, according to its statement. Formed in 1998 and based in Teaneck, NJ, the company recorded sales of $12.42 billion last year.
For Cambridge, MA-based Biogen, the partnership comes as it works to restructure and build its future around Alzheimer’s R&D. In October, the company announced the cull of 830 staff members in a bid to save costs and shed programs deemed too risky. More recently, the company suffered a Phase II multiple sclerosis flop with its opicinumab--though it said it won’t discount the drug and will instead look at the data for potential paths forward.
- here's the release