Optum and PAREXEL to Accelerate Drug Development, Reimbursement and Market Access with EHR-Fueled Clinical Research and Hybrid Studies

BOSTON & WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Optum and PAREXEL International (NASDAQ:PRXL) formed a strategic alliance to reduce drug development costs associated with post-approval studies, which are conducted after the approval of a product to obtain further evidence of its safety or effectiveness.

The strategic alliance combines the strength of Optum’s clinical data set derived from electronic health records (EHRs), claims data assets and analytics with PAREXEL’s global, site-based research experience.

Optum and PAREXEL will offer innovative hybrid studies that combine existing data from electronic health records (EHRs) and medical claims with site-based clinical research, which can accelerate the post-approval collection of clinical evidence for the life sciences industry. Through these powerful new clinical studies, Optum and PAREXEL aim to help biopharmaceutical companies bring new, more effective drugs to market with reduced drug development costs and increased evidence to support health plan reimbursement.

“Combining PAREXEL’s clinical research expertise with Optum’s data resources and analytical capabilities can advance the way new and innovative drugs are developed, evaluated and brought to market for the benefit of patients,” said Brian Kelly, president, Optum Life Sciences. “At Optum, we generate real-world evidence that helps our clients improve clinical care and, ultimately, make the health system work better.”

“The pressures to control health care costs mean drug developers are looking for ways to create efficiencies and cost-savings in drug development,” said Joshua Schultz, corporate vice president and worldwide head of PAREXEL Access. “Working with Optum Life Sciences, PAREXEL will be able to further advance the clinical research process, helping clients more efficiently develop and evaluate drugs, reduce the cost of drug development and improve patient care.”

About Optum

Optum is a leading information and technology-enabled health services business dedicated to helping make the health system work better for everyone. With more than 100,000 people worldwide, Optum delivers intelligent, integrated solutions that help to modernize the health system and improve overall population health. Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH). For more information, visit www.Optum.com.

About PAREXEL

PAREXEL International Corporation is a leading global biopharmaceutical services organization, providing a broad range of expertise-based contract research, consulting, medical communications, and technology solutions and services to the worldwide pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Committed to providing solutions that expedite time-to-market and peak-market penetration, PAREXEL has developed significant expertise across the development and commercialization continuum, from drug development and regulatory consulting to clinical pharmacology, clinical trials management, medical education and reimbursement. PAREXEL Informatics provides advanced technology solutions, including medical imaging, to facilitate the clinical development process. Headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts, PAREXEL has offices in 80 locations in 51 countries around the world, and had approximately 18,620 employees in the first quarter. For more information about PAREXEL International visit www.PAREXEL.com.

PAREXEL and PAREXEL Informatics are trademarks or registered trademarks of PAREXEL International Corporation or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

This release contains “forward-looking” statements regarding future results and events. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “appears,” “estimates,” “projects,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “targets,” and similar expressions are also intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this release involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such factors and others are discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which “Risk Factors” discussion is incorporated by reference in this press release. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the future. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s estimates or views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.