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TetraQ and Q-Pharm expanding into lucrative Japanese pharmaceutical market
Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 26 October 2009 – Two of Australia’s leading contract research
organisations, TetraQ and Q-Pharm Pty Ltd, have announced a collaboration with Japanese clinical
trial organisation, MORE Medical, in a step to promote Queensland’s high quality drug
development capabilities, particularly in preclinical drug development and early phase clinical
trials.
TetraQ, the commercial arm of The University of Queensland’s (UQ), Centre for Integrated
Preclinical Drug Development, believes establishing itself in Japan will help promote the benefits of
outsourcing clinical and preclinical research and development to Queensland.
CEO Professor Maree Smith said the collaboration was years in the making and might not have
been possible without the strong support of UQ spin out partner Q-Pharm, the Queensland Clinical
Trials Network (QCTN) and the Queensland State Government.
“Over the last three to four years we have been working together in promoting Queensland’s high
quality preclinical and clinical trial capabilities in Japan,” she said.
“At TetraQ we sit in the translational research space; we assist universities, small biotech and
pharmaceutical companies in getting potential drugs from the laboratory bench to the market.”
“We perform preclinical trials, to evaluate these drugs for their efficacy, to assess whether or not
they do what the company thinks they do, and for their safety to ensure they are sufficiently safe to
go on to be tested in early stage human clinical trials.”
Professor Smith said the collaboration would be a win for all parties involved.
“It is a great opportunity for TetraQ and Q-Pharm to establish a significant presence within Japan,
which is encouraging the ‘outsourcing model’. This model is used very effectively by both U.S.
pharmaceutical companies as well as biotechnology companies in Australia, the U.S. and elsewhere
to control costs of new drug development.”
“It allows MORE Medical to grow their business in a competitive Japanese market, through the
collaboration with TetraQ’s preclinical capabilities and Q-Pharm’s specialist Phase I and II clinical
trials.”
“It is also a success for the Queensland Government and UQ, which has invested millions into
TetraQ.”
Q-Pharm CEO, Mr Terry Hurst, said the company offered significant advantages to Japanese clients
in terms of cost, quality and efficiency in conducting early phase clinical trials. “As a well
established and globally focussed business, Q-Pharm has an excellent track record in overseas
markets and is well positioned to service the Japanese clinical trial sector, particularly in the area of
Japanese-Caucasian bridging studies”.
This announcement was made by The Queensland Trade Commissioner for Japan, Mr Tak Adachi
at a Global Engaging Event held in Brisbane last Friday, 23rd Oct 2009.
Mr Adachi and the Queensland Minister for Trade, Mr Stephen Robertson, were credited for their
work in support of the collaboration.
Media: Dean Simonsen (+61 7 3346 9933 or d.simonsen@tetraq.com.au)
Nathan Martinez (+61 7 3845 3607 or n.martinez@qpharm.com.au
About TetraQ
TetraQ is the first contract research organisation in Australia to provide integrated preclinical
services to the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Providing a broad range of preclinical services and advice to companies that are in the early stages
of drug development, TetraQ can assist in bridging the gap between drug discovery and early stage
clinical trials. TetraQ draws on the expertise of four leading specialists in preclinical drug
development. Its team of highly experienced scientists is supported by a dedicated Commercial
Manager, Operations Manager, Sales & Services Manager and a Quality Assurance Manager.
TetraQ has built world-class facilities to provide its extensive and expanding range of services. This
has been enabled by $8.1M in investment funds from the Queensland Government’s Smart State
Research Facilities Fund, along with significant cash and in-kind support from The University of
Queensland (UQ) and its supporting partners, Q-Pharm Pty Ltd and The Queensland Institute of
Medical Research (QIMR).
Formed in 2005 and located at UQ in Brisbane, TetraQ is the commercial arm of the Centre for
Integrated Preclinical Drug Development. This Centre is the focal point of research and training
excellence in the field of preclinical drug development. TetraQ is also a registered business of
UniQuest Pty Ltd, the main technology transfer company of UQ.
About Q-Pharm
Q-Pharm Pty Limited is Australia’s premier early phase clinical research facility and conducts
Phase I and II clinical trials, pharmacokinetic studies and bioequivalence studies as its area of
speciality.
Q-Pharm was established in July 2002 as a joint venture of UniQuest (UQ’s main
commercialization company) and The Queensland Institute of Medical Research. The company
occupies world class facilities in the QIMR precinct at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Q-Pharm assists pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the early clinical stages of their
development programs where product safety is assessed. The company provides a comprehensive,
high quality service and conducts clinical trials in accordance with all applicable national and
international standards and guidelines. Q-Pharm’s strength is its highly-qualified clinical trial team,
whose leaders have a wealth of experience in clinical development.
About MORE Medical
MORE Medical Inc. is a Japanese Contract Research Organization (CRO) that provides monitoring
services for clinical trials carried out by domestic pharmaceutical companies, post-marketing
surveillance, clinical research associates (for monitoring purposes) to pharmaceutical companies
and consultation on regulatory affairs related to medical devices.
