Biologics, Inc. Selected to Provide Pharmacy Management Services in National Marrow Donor Program Clinical Trial

CARY, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Biologics, Inc., the leading cancer management company in the United States, announces that its Oncology Clinical Trial Services division has been selected by the National Marrow Donor Program^® (NMDP), a nonprofit organization that facilitates unrelated hematopoietic cell transplants.

Biologics’ Oncology Clinical Trial Services division is providing pharmacy management services for an NMDP Phase III trial that is determining the safety and efficacy of filgrastim (Neupogen^®)-stimulated peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) in hematopoietic cell transplants involving unrelated donors. The trial is also investigating the effects of the donation process on the unrelated stem cell donors.

According to the NMDP, PBSC is now used more often than marrow for adult patients in need of allogeneic and autologous transplants. PBSC donors receive injections of the drug Neupogen for five days prior to the donation to stimulate the growth of more blood-forming cells and their release from the donor’s marrow and into the bloodstream. The blood cells can then be collected on an outpatient basis, through less invasive methods than those used in marrow collection.

Biologics is responsible for inventory management and coordination of the on-time delivery of approximately 200 shipments a month of Neupogen. More than 50 NMDP donor sites throughout the United States are participating in the trial, which is conducted under an FDA investigational new drug protocol. While Biologics’ involvement is recent, the trial started in 1997. Fifteen-thousand donors are expected to participate by 2012.

As is the case for many clinical trial protocols, timing is a critical component for this study. Biologics’ Oncology Clinical Trial Services division must adhere to the protocol’s time constraints in order to successfully support the complex transplant schedule. In addition, the drug must be shipped overnight in temperature-controlled packaging to ensure the stability of the drug.

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1987 and based in Minneapolis, Minn. The NMDP operates the Be The Match Registry^SM, the world’s largest and most diverse registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors and donated umbilical cord blood units. As a leader in the field of marrow and cord blood transplantation, the NMDP facilitates transplants worldwide, conducts research to help transplant recipients live longer, healthier lives, and provides education and support services to patients, donors and health care professionals. In its 21-year history, the NMDP has facilitated more than 35,000 transplants to give patients a second chance at life. Patients diagnosed with leukemia, lymphomas or other blood cancers make up approximately 72 percent of transplants facilitated by the NMDP.

Biologics, Inc. is a cancer management company with an innovative business model that brings together the many complex components of cancer care to provide a patient-focused platform for managing the financial, emotional and physical burdens of cancer treatment. Biologics is at the center of the rapidly changing oncology environment to support treatment modalities, clinical outcomes and informatics and leverage established relationships with oncology clinicians, patients, payors, researchers and manufacturers. The company operates four divisions: Oncology Pharmacy, Oncology Clinical Trial Services, Oncology Management Services for payors and Oncology Biopharmaceutical Solutions. Since it was founded in 1994, Biologics has been dedicated to improving the lives of those fighting cancer. The privately held company maintains headquarters and operations in Cary, N.C. Visit www.biologicstoday.com to learn more.