Chief Executive Officer Mario Rocci talks us through the unique, customer focused vision of contract research organization (CRO) Prevalere Life Sciences.
Written by Roxanne Ridge and Produced by Thomas Venturo
Prevalere Life Sciences, Inc. emerged from Oneida Research Services, Inc. (ORS) in 2002. ORS was started in the 70s as a microelectronics testing firm, and later branched out into pharmaceutical testing during the 80s. Naturally, as time went on it made sense to focus on the two areas separately.
Prevalere provides consulting and GLP/GMP compliant analytical testing services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The company draws on the extensive product development expertise of a team of consultants to provide guidance in the preparation of IND applications for biotechnology products under development. In addition, Prevalere provides analytical testing support during the development stages of biotechnology and pharmaceutical products.
Since starting up, Prevalere has worked successfully to support the approvals of several important new drugs – many of which were developed to treat the most deadly of diseases including Alzheimer’s, AIDS, cancer and heart disease.
Work ethics
Over the last several years, Prevalere has grown quickly to its current size of approximately 100 employees, at its Whitesboro, NY site.
And for Mario Rocci, Prevalere’s CEO, this location is everything. Mario earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics and a B.S. in Pharmacy from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He gained his initial drug development experience working with a team of Clinical Pharmacologists as the Head of the Laboratory for Investigative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. He then joined Oneida Research Services in 1988 as the Director of their pharmaceutical services group.
“I grew up in the Mohawk Valley,” says Mario. “And I always wanted to come back here to work. “I liked the idea that the company was new and entrepreneurial in spirit.”
Mario’s work at Prevalere has made him extremely well known in the pharmaceutical industry. He worked for three years on the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists’ (AAPS) Board of Directors before being elected President. He also serves on the board for the International Pharmaceutical Federation and the Steering Committee for the Product Quality Research Institute. He has authored over 120 scientific publications.
And Mario wasn’t the only esteemed scientist from the Mohawk Valley wishing to work back home. In 2002 Paula Jardieu, a Senior Vice President for Development Sciences at Genentech, joined Prevalere to initiate new services to support development programs within the biotechnology industry. Paula’s 23 years of experience, including over 60 publications and numerous patents, have proven invaluable in catapulting Prevalere’s entry and impressive growth in the biotechnology services arena.
Looking forward
As a private company, Prevalere is cautious about releasing figures on its revenues, but Mario does describe the company as “actively growing.” Over the last twelve months, the business has grown by 20 to 25 percent.
“Much of this growth can be attributed to the substantial impact Paula Jardieu and her staff are having in expanding our services into biotechnology,” Mario says. “In addition, in 2006 we formed a strategic partnership with BioPharma Services Inc., a Toronto-based clinical research facility. This partnership should provide a high degree of leverage for all of our service areas in 2008 and beyond.”
Although a lot has to do with the way the company has evolved over time, much of Prevalere’s success has to do with its unique outlook on the industry in general. “While many competitors are establishing facilities offshore, we’ve developed a management strategy that has enabled us to offer value-added services at a price that would make our clients think twice about placing their work abroad,” Mario says.
“We have developed an innovative approach to our business that combines laboratory automation with unique software applications to streamline workflow, reduce labour costs, and offer services that have been tailored to each of our client’s specific requirements. We have invested heavily in the most advanced laboratory technology, including the latest LC-MS-MS equipment to support our pharmaceutical clients and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection systems in our biotechnology area.”
As a medium sized company, Mario strongly believes that the exceptional customer service offered by Prevalere continues to be a key strategic element in their success. “We validate exactly what the client wants,” explains Mario. “And we’re protocol driven. If a client wants a report delivered in their own format, we offer this at no extra cost.”
Offering this kind of service with a fast delivery time is clearly no easy task however. “Our turnaround time for analytical reports is typically between 10 and 20 days after the analytical work is completed,” says Mario. “And this is really fast if you consider how we tailor our work to the individual needs of our clients. To accomplish this, the company uses a proprietary bioanalytical report generation system and “real time data processing”.
“Throughout the analytical and reporting process we’re constantly interacting with our clients to ensure we’re doing exactly what they require. This is critical for the client who needs to make the best strategic and cost-effective development decisions when it comes to their products.”
Valuing employees
Prevalere highly values its staff, since their dedication to the company’s vision is a primary driver of Prevalere’s success. “Our workplace culture can be described as “collegial,” says Mario. “It is this spirit of partnership among our employees that enables us to offer the best consulting and testing services.”
Prevalere has a strong graduate recruitment programme. “We offer jobs to graduates fresh out of college and train them by having them work alongside experienced scientists.” The company has also established a scholarship programme for people seeking an Associates degree in science from the area’s community colleges.
“The company’s been fortunate to have some excellent talent come from these recruitment efforts. And I’m sure it’s people like this who will really pull the company forward in the future.” Judging by the tailored service Prevalere offers, it’s hard to see how this won’t happen.