Dublin CRO giant Icon ($ICLR) has secured a deal to buy fellow contract research org ClinicalRM to help shore up its presence in the market for government-sponsored research, as well as its capabilities in vaccines and infectious disease.
The Hinckley, OH-based CRO bases much of its business around government deals, most recently picking up a federal contract to collect samples from Zika-positive patients, which will then be given to med dev companies to help in their testing for the virus.
The company has also been expanding this year, announcing back in April that it had opened a new office in the CRO homeland near Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. The company began life back in 1994 and now has more than 500 employees.
Financial details of the buyout were not disclosed.
Icon’s Ciaran Murray said: “The market for government-sponsored research is significant with over fifteen hundred active clinical studies being funded by the National Institutes of Health or other federal agencies. ClinicalRM has strong relationships and a deep understanding of what is required to partner successfully with government sponsors.
“They will provide Icon a platform to further penetrate this market segment as part of our strategy to grow and diversify our customer base. ClinicalRM’s experience in responding to the challenges of global viruses will further enhance ICON’s capabilities in the areas of vaccines and infectious disease, benefiting our customers and patients globally.”
Icon has had a good year, with its 2015 full-year revenue jumping by 10% at CER, reaching $1.57 billion. This came off the back of a number of deals the CRO has made in recent times, including a tie-up with Genomics England and IBM Watson ($IBM), as well as the takeover of MediMedia Pharma Solutions and the buyout of PMG Research.
Victoria Tifft, CEO of ClinicalRM, added: “We are delighted to be joining Icon. By combining ClinicalRM’s expertise in government sponsored research with Icon’s breadth of services and global footprint we will be able to bring additional services and thought leadership to our customers.
“We are also excited about the potential the combination has to further innovate drug development in the area of Vaccines and Infectious diseases, important areas of focus for both government and commercial customers.”
- check out the release
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