PAREXEL

PAREXEL International

Type	Public
Traded as	NASDAQ: PRXL S&P 400 Component
Industry	Clinical research organizations Pharmaceutical
Founded	1982
Headquarters	Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America; 80+ facilities in 51+ countries
Key people	Chairman and CEO: Josef H. von
Services	clinical trial management, data management, medical writing, biostatistics, pharmacovigilance, regulatory consulting
Revenue	$2,054.3M USD (2016)
Net income	$154.9M USD (2016)
Number of employees	18,660
Website	https://www.parexel.com/

PAREXEL International is a multinational life sciences consulting firm. It conducts clinical trials on behalf of its pharmaceutical clients to expedite the drug approval process. It is the second largest clinical research organization in the world and has helped develop approximately 95% of the 200 top-selling biopharmaceuticals on the market today. The company publishes the annual PAREXEL R&D Statistical Sourcebook, operates the PAREXEL-Academy, and councils all of the top 50 biopharmaceutical and top 30 biotechnology companies.

PAREXEL was founded in 1982 by Josef von Rickenbach and organic chemist Anne B. Sayigh initially to advise Japanese and German firms on how to navigate the FDA approval process. The firm has grown organically over the years and through 40 acquisitions. Josef von Rickenbach is credited with establishing PAREXEL’s culture and practices based on the principles he experienced as a researcher at Schering-Plough in Lucerne, Switzerland.

In 1990, the firm expanded internationally and established new practice areas. By 1999 it had a staff of 4,500 and 45 offices. In the 2000s, it grew to over 18,000 employees. PAREXEL’s consulting and clinical trial work has helped establish many household drug brands and contributed to numerous successes in modern pharmacology.

In 2016, the company allied with EMC Corporation to provide a suite of regulated information and content management services.

In March 2006, a PAREXEL-run trial on behalf of TeGenero, the now bankrupt German biotechnology firm, on its anti-inflammatory drug TGN1412 to treat rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or leukaemia, caused severe inflammation and multiple organ failure in six healthy volunteers at a facility based at Northwick Park Hospital in London. The drug had been tested on animals but this was the first test on humans.