VX Pharma

Located at The Innovation Hub, is Vx Pharma, a dedicated and purposed designed, clinical trials ‘super-site’ and SMO located in the most densely populated and economically active zone within South Africa [the Pretoria-Johannesburg urban zone]. The company offers both inpatient (Phase 1, 2a and BE/BA) and outpatient (Phase 3 and 4) services. The latter business being acquired through the takeover of Syzygy Clinical Research Services, an outpatient trials business established in 2002. There are no other active inpatient clinical research centres in the Zone with a feeder area that encompasses approximately 10 million people. Within the immediate precinct of the site there are approximately 10 private and public hospitals as well as the densest health and life-sciences research cluster. Vx Pharma’s has a close partnership with an extensive network of alliance sites in the South African clinical trials industry which enables them to expand their operation by up-scaling patient numbers for bigger outpatient trials.

The inpatient business is setup in a 23-emergency-bed configuration which can be doubled to a 46-bed configuration depending on study design. All of the catering, patient processing, administrative and clinical capabilities/infrastructure is supported by best practice GCP and data quality processes.

These capabilities are synergised with the outpatient examination and processing zones to service the Phase 3 and 4 business operations. Vx Pharma has invested heavily in state of the art IT infrastructure to optimise sponsor and patient data security and to enable the company to function seamlessly from any satellite location.

Additionaly, Vx Pharma offers a full range of routine diagnostic and screening tests, including infectious diseases and quantitative molecular testing through its partnership with Motion Pathology Services which has located a clinical pathology laboratory onsite. This enables Vx Pharma to offer all screening and routine monitoring blood-work as part of our clinical trials offering leading to significant cost and logistics advantages over our competitors.

As part of their Clinical Trial Service, Vx Pharma take extra care in selecting the right patient for the right trial through their focused patient recruitment and retention processes. Vx Pharma prides itself on a thriving patient database which is built to >70,000 highly characterised (ICD10 standards) and contactable patients. All patient information is treated strictly according to the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) the South African equivalent of the USA’s HIPAA. Their patient database and recruitment capabilities have been developed as a direct outcome of:

• Exclusive relationship with the Intercare Hospital Group,providing access to a trusted network of GPs and specialists in a healthcare group that consults more than 600,000

patients p.a.

• Direct access to treatment naïve patients via local primary care clinics

• Dedicated patient recruitment function within the organisation

Over and above patient recruitment, Vx Pharma also places a strong focus on ensuring that patients complete the entire study programme. Their successful patient retention strategy starts with effective screening and selection of suitable candidates who are

likely to remain compliant. They also follow through with 24/7 support by making sure patients have access to a clinical team at any given time and that their comfort, safety and clinical well-being are prioritised. In addition, Vx Pharma’s study coordinators stay closely integrated with their trial participant community through home visits.

Vx Pharma (inclusive of Syzygy Clinical Research Services) has conducted over 150 clinical studies across a wide range of major chronic disease areas. Although they have historically embraced a broad disease-area portfolio they have embarked on a strategy to align the business to the current needs of their sponsors which now places more emphasis on specialised clinical capabilities. The company focus areas include: Endocrinology, Respiratory, Rheumatology and COPD in the outpatient business and HIV in the inpatient business, with particular focus on Phase 2a and BE of generic ARVs in patients.

Contact details:

UNIT U3-U7, The Enterprise Building

The Innovation Hub

6 Mark Shuttleworth Street,Pretoria

Phone: +27 (0)12 844 0144