Quintiles partners with Russian fund on clinical trials plan

Quintiles is partnering with a Russian investment fund to create new companies doing clinical trial work in the Russian Federation.

No financial terms of the definitive agreement with Russian Venture Company Biofund were disclosed. But the partners said that Russia, the ninth-most populous country in the world, represents an opportunity for clinical trials.

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“With a population of almost 140 million, Russia is underrepresented in terms of clinical development activity and overrepresented in terms of unmet medical needs,” Ben Cons, global vice president, Quintiles corporate development, said in a statement.

The partnership pairs RVC’s financial muscle with the clinical trials expertise of Durham, North Carolina-based Quintiles, the industry’s largest clinical research organization. Quintiles has done clinical trial work in Russia since 1996.

RVC is a government fund of funds and a development institute of the Russian Federation. The fund invests government capital through venture capital funds it creates in partnership with private investors. RVC has 12 backed funds with a capitalization of about $860 million; RVC’s share represents about $530 million of that total. Those funds have invested about $300 million in 101 companies.

RVC Biofund was established last year. It invests in biopharmaceutical service companies and biotechnology startups. Quintiles and RVC said they anticipate announcing plans for specific joint ventures “in the near future.”