Headquarter In: Schaumburg, IL
Founded in Year: 1992
Employees Headcount: 51-200
It’s a charismatic century where the world is changing its way by adopting and adapting to the technological disruptions. Numerous scientific developments and innovations take place throughout industries including pharmaceutical and healthcare industries every single day improving the human health and forwarding life-expectancy one step further. However, the cost of drug-development or discovery process continues to rise and the chances of success continues to plummet. According to McKinsey, every years, the top 20 pharmaceutical companies spend approximately $60 billion on the research and development of drug discovery.
The drug discovery process consists of steps of identification of candidates, synthesis, characterization, screening, and assays for therapeutic efficacy.
Antibiotic resistance is on the rise. The healthcare industry is now in need of new antibiotics and therapies to treat infectious diseases and viruses. This is where prestigious companies like International Health Management Associates or IHMA enters. The company is working with pharmaceutical companies to develop new antibiotics and therapies for infectious diseases. They are also working with diagnostic companies in order to test these new antibiotics.
The Leading Light of IHMA
Jack Johnson, the CEO of IHMA, has years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry such as Pfizer, Beecham Laboratories and G.D. Searle. He founded the company in 1992 with an aim to help the pharmaceutical companies to meet the challenges prevailing in the drug development industry. During the 18-years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, he launched products named cefoperazone, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, mupirocin and lomefloxacin respectively.
This is the efforts of Jackson, IHMA has become one of the world’s leading providers of antimicrobial drug development support. The company offers complete collaboration and flexibility with all of their clients around the world ensuring ongoing development success.
As the leading global microbiology service provider to the biopharmaceutical industry, IHMA’s mission is to utilize their widespread laboratory and industry expertise to support efficient and effective anti-infective product development.
Outstanding Products and Services
Full service microbiology and molecular laboratories are the most distinguishing services of IHMA. It is a leading benefactor of antimicrobial drug development studies that offers an all-inclusive domain proficiency in all stages of antimicrobial drug development. The phases of antimicrobial drug development include: drug discovery, clinical development, regulatory approval and commercialization. With branches in the USA, Europe, India, and Chine, IHMA collaborates with companies around the world in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic devise industry.
The clients of the company include those organizations who need:
- Pre-clinical studies including in vitro and pharmacodynamic studies
- MIC Profile
- Time Kill
- Resistance Development
- Global support of all phases of clinical trials
- Therapeutics
- Diagnostic Devices
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance
- Bacterial
- Fungal
- Molecular Characterization of AMR
- Support with New Therapeutic Approaches
- Bacteriophage
- WGS Diagnostics
The Phases and Expertise of IHMA in Antimicrobial Drug Development
As mentioned earlier, IHMA supports all phases of antimicrobial drug development, from discovery to commercialization.
IHMA reserves incomparable expertise in the spheres of microbiology, pharmaceutical, medical, and diagnostic. This highly elevated skillset ensures effortless success for the phases of drug development, clinical trial support, regulatory approval and commercialization.
Drug Discovery:
The process of discovering new anti-infective entirely depends upon the well-timed generation of relevant and informative data. The full suite of technical competences, resources, and domain expertise of IHMA employees are enough to support the discovery needs of the clients in a collaborative and flexible manner.
The proficiencies in the drug discovery include:
- Bacterial Repository
- Specialized Microbiology Laboratory Services
- Clinical Scientific Expertise
“We are always evaluating cutting-edge technologies and novel study designs to support changing infectious disease field”
Clinical Development
Among the many challenges in the way of designing a clinical product, economic constraints, uncertain regulatory landscapes, and the continuous evolution of unique strategies for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases are significant.
The technical competencies in clinical development include:
- Central Laboratory Microbiology Services
- Specialized Microbiology Laboratory Services
- Clinical Scientific Expertise
Regulatory Submission
A successful regulatory outcome depends on many factors including scientifically and clinically sound data, presented in a concise and coherent manner. From the microbiology perspective, the expert team of IMHA ensures that these goals are met with their proficiency in the domain.
Expertise in Regulatory submission include:
- Central Laboratory Microbiology Services
- Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance
- Specialized Microbiology Laboratory Services
- Clinical Scientific Expertise
Commercialization
The timing of educating the global clinical and scientific community about the new product’s attributes, and the ability of local clinical microbiology laboratories to test the product against the organisms they encounter in their clinical settings are considered as the main attributors for a successful commercialization. IHMA offers a number of solutions uniquely suited to be used in a collaborative and successful manner to help developing a successful plan for commercialization.
Areas of Expertise
- Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance
- Clinical Scientific Expertise
- Manufacturers Interface and Performance Program (MIPP)
- Antimicrobial Voluntary Evaluation Program (AVEP)
- Surveillance Data Link Network (SDLN)
- Specialized Microbiology Laboratory Services
Contribution of IHMA to the Development of the Industry
IHMA is a premier provider of antimicrobial drug development studies. With laboratories in both the US and Europe, the company partners with clients around the world in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic fields. IHMA is a leading, independent laboratory specializing in surveillance studies and clinical trials, creating key milestones along–the continuum from drug development to commercialization. The company also utilizes state-of-the-art technology, which enables the team in first-class testing and data as well as sound economic frameworks. The services offered by IHMA are customizable to best align with the unique testing needs of the clients. This ensures successful drug development, commercialization, and post-marketing pathways.
While asked about what the future holds for the company, John Jackson, the CEO, asserted, “We are always evaluating new technologies and new study designs to support the changing infectious disease therapy field. For example, the use of technology such as MALDI-TOF and whole genome sequencing is shifting from experimental technology to standard laboratory procedures.”