msp Tenant Case Study: RTI Health Solutions

RTI’s presence gives msp a fortuitous but welcome link to the world’s first major science park, the Research Triangle Park of North Carolina. This now huge engine of innovation was formed back in 1958, as a result of support from local government, education and business. In this sense, msp closely mirrors our prestigious US precursor.

RTI was formed a year later in 1959, and now employs 2,500 people working in 40 countries. RTI Health Solutions, whose European base is at, forms part of this major research organisation and was created as a business unit of RTI in 2000. Its primary  focus is on providing  ‘health outcomes research’ consulting services, which includes health economics, patient reported outcomes, medical biostatistics, pharmacovigilence, epidemiology and pricing and reimbursement.

RTI Health Solutions has grown significantly over its 6 year existeance, now employing around 130 staff,  of which 13 are based at Manchester. They have an impressive list of customers, including most of the world’s major pharmaceutical companies. Stephen Beard, their Head of European Operations, cites a recent typical example.

“Sanofi-Aventis developed a new drug for treatment of early breast cancer as an adjunct to surgery, and asked us to review the clinical and economic evidence in preparation for an industry submission to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE is an organisation who advises the UK Government on the overall economic value and efficacy of treatments and health technologies. We developed a robust decision-support software model for this drug treatment, showing how many quality-adjusted life-years it was likely to provide alongside its expected additional cost. New drug treatments  are increasingly expensive today, and this form of economic evaluation is necessary to get them through the formal approval process. We need to show not only clinical efficacy, but also assess the economic justification of the treatment, in the face of the myriad of competing financial pressures faced by today’s Health Service. ”

“The publication of such results in the scientific literature gives them an independent validity and  scientific credibility through peer review, which is something both we and our clients want. We write the manuscripts in-house ourselves, often in collaboration with an external clinical adviser. This helps to differentiate us from their competitors.” Interestingly, it also spans the academic-industrial divide in exactly the way that the parent RTI wanted to do, when it was established on the Research Triangle Park all those years ago.

RTI Health Solutions are keen to steadily grow their business, through both their planned organic growth and the selective acquisition and partnership with organisations having a similar academic and quality ethos, providing complementary health research services. An example is the very recent acquisition, in January 2007, of the pricing and reimbursement group PDCI based out of Ottawa, Canada.

RTI Health Solutions find their accommodation and environment at msp exactly right for what they are trying to achieve. So is the location, close to the University and Teaching Hospital, where they can get high-quality clinical and scientific support. Since they have definite plans to expand their operations within Europe, the proximity of Manchester International Airport is also seen as a major benefit.