CRO

QPS swings into North Carolina with Hamner partnership

Global CRO QPS has inked a deal with the Hamner Institutes, partnering up to launch QPS Hepatic Biosciences, a cell-based research unit in Research Triangle Park, NC.

Hamner, a nonprofit focused on translational safety research, will provide its expertise as QPS looks to expand its offerings in hepatocyte research, drug metabolism, drug transporter sciences and in vitro drug-drug interactions. The new business will fall under QPS' DMPK department, and the pairing is designed to augment Hamner's existing programs and support business development for both organizations, QPS CEO Ben Chien said.

"Strengthening in vitro ADME within QPS is a logical extension of our bench-to-the-bedside strategy in bridging preclinical data to Phase I by addressing drug-drug interaction concerns," Chien said in a statement. "The collaboration with the Hamner reinforces the QPS philosophy of providing outstanding science and services to our customers."

The partnership is yet another deal for the restless QPS, which has been stringing together acquisitions and collaborations over the past few years. Earlier this month, QPS bought Miami Research Associates' Phase I unit and patient recruitment operation, its fifth handshake in two years. Before that, QPS bought JSW, Austria's largest CRO, to bolster its Phase II-IV offerings, and earlier snapped up India's Bioserve, the Netherlands' Xendo and Taiwan's Center of Toxicology and Preclinical Science.

This winter, QPS bolstered its Phase I capacity in the Netherlands and inked a deal with Japan's Intellim to launch a 50-50 joint venture for Phase II-IV services in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China.

- here's the announcement