UBC announces the opening of new global office in Tokyo, Japan

United BioSource Corporation (UBC) today announced the opening of its newest global office in Tokyo, Japan. The UBC office will be led by Kumpei Kobayashi, PharmD, a biopharmaceutical industry veteran with over 20 years of product development experience throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Personnel in the new UBC office will support the company’s investigator training and certification solutions as well as ongoing clinical research monitoring services in the region.

“We believe it is absolutely critical to provide clients with on-the-ground biopharmaceutical research scientists and operations professionals with local knowledge and expertise”

The new facility reinforces UBC’s position as the industry leader in helping biopharmaceutical research sponsors protect the integrity of clinical trial data and enhance research measurement precision to ensure the reliability of study results. The company’s increased commitment in the Asia-Pacific region underscores the growing importance of domestic Japanese and Pan-Asian clinical research studies as a crucial success factor during regulatory evaluations and product commercialization.

“We believe it is absolutely critical to provide clients with on-the-ground biopharmaceutical research scientists and operations professionals with local knowledge and expertise,” said Catherine Spear, UBC’s Senior Vice President. “The UBC office in Tokyo will help us support our clients’ research projects with local personnel who understand the needs of patients, health care professionals and regulators in this important region. Local knowledge of the Asia-Pacific markets is absolutely essential when we help clients manage research projects that are often very large, complex and supported by significant financial investments.”

Dr. Kobayashi brings more than 20 years of experience in biopharmaceuticals and life sciences with an extensive background in the Asia-Pacific region. Dr. Kobayashi began his career as a research scientist and most recently managed operations for i3 Japan. Dr. Kobayashi will focus on expanding UBC’s operations in Japan with specific oversight over its line of services aimed at improving the reliability of clinical study results. “UBC has demonstrated its ability to improve to quality of data gathered during clinical trials by integrating a wealth of scientific expertise, operational excellence and leading-edge technology. Our new office in Tokyo will facilitate our ability to provide research sponsors with a successful combination of local and international experts to deliver the most cost-effective, high-quality services,” said Dr. Kobayashi.

Dr. Kobayashi will be joined by several key members of UBC’s management team including David Miller, M.D. who has served as a key scientific leader on several Pan-Asian and multi-national studies involving sites in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, India, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Last year, Dr. Miller represented UBC at the Japanese Society for NeuroPsychopharmcology (JSNP) meeting in Kyoto, Japan where he presented a poster on Identifying Capable Raters for Global Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials in Japan: Challenges and Potential Solutions. In addition, Dr. Miller is an active participant in the Worldwide Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (WW-ADNI), attending the recent 2009 meeting in Sendai, Japan.