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AstraZeneca signs $95m outsourcing deal
Company hopes to realise R&D savings

By Nick Heath

Published: Monday 10 March 2008

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has struck a $95m outsourcing deal to streamline its data management.

The deal will see Cognizant centralising AstraZeneca's global clinical development programmes over five years.

AstraZeneca is hoping to realise R&D efficiencies and cost savings, with Cognizant managing a broad spectrum of services currently run from the UK, the US and Sweden.

These include data management planning, clinical study set-up for electronic data capture, medical coding, adverse event reconciliation, clinical data management and training for clinical sites and investigators.

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Cognizant will provide the services from its operations centres across North America, Europe and India.

Anders Ekblom, vice president of clinical development for AstraZeneca, said in a statement: "Our existing, long-standing relationship with Cognizant supports our view that they are the best partner to deliver clinical data management services for us.

"Delivering efficiencies through reshaping our business is one of our key strategic priorities."

Cognizant already provides other business services for AstraZeneca across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.