Cary, NC-based Ockham has broadened the scope of its oncology CRO network with the acquisition of Nexus Oncology. The deal will swell Ockham's staff to 300 in 12 countries as Nexus founder Clare Wareing moves into the role of chief scientific officer of the combined company. The buyout price was not revealed.
Ockham started out in business some 25 years ago as ASG, a staffing company focused on IT. But according to an article in CenterWatch, ASG wound up snagging the "distressed" Ockham operation and its 60 workers focused on Phase I and II cancer studies back in 2009. Since then it's been steadily building up its CRO assets, staying focused on a niche that often pits it against the likes of Novella, Aptiv and Premier. Now its operations in the U.K., India and the U.S. will be added to a network with branches in North America and such European countries as Germany and Sweden.
"The small trials we work on require a certain amount of leadership, and the large guys can't do that as efficiently as we do," Ockham CEO James Baker told CenterWatch. "As a result, we've created this nice niche where, at the end of the day, we've become known as one of the top five early-stage oncology CROs."
"Nexus is a first-class organization that has a history of providing excellent service in oncology clinical trials throughout the world," Baker said in a statement. "The experience of the Nexus clinical team and their leadership will help the newly enlarged company to expand our services and be a force in getting lifesaving oncologic drugs to market more efficiently. Ockham is excited to have Nexus as part of our family as we move forward in our quest to be the number one global oncology and specialty services CRO in the world."
- get the press release
- here's the story from CenterWatch