CRO

MPI buys out a CRO neighbor to bolster early-stage R&D

William Parfet, MPI CEO

MPI Research has acquired fellow Michigan CRO Jasper Clinical Research and Development for an undisclosed sum, a move that will augment the company's offerings in Phase I trials.

Through the deal, MPI gets the Jasper Clinic, a 25,000-square-foot, 50-bed clinical outpost that specializes in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies, plus drug-interaction and methodology trials.

More than 80 Jasper employees will come aboard at MPI under the acquisition, the company said, further establishing the CRO's presence in early-stage research and its share of Michigan's drug development market, CEO William Parfet said.

"The addition of the Jasper Clinic is an important step toward making MPI Research the leading 'one-stop' resource for the early drug development community," Parfet said in a statement. "From candidate selection in discovery, through preclinical safety assessment, proof-of-distribution imaging studies, and now, clinical trials, we can offer the full continuum of lead to proof-of-concept services for new drug candidates."

The deal is MPI's second major expansion this year, following its move to team up with CROs inviCRO and 3D Imaging to open an imaging-focused research outfit in Michigan, a 10,000-square-foot operation offering molecular imaging, radiochemistry and informatics in one location, plus an on-site vivarium for animal studies.

MPI is also lending its expertise to a nontraditional R&D venture, joining three other service providers to launch KPI Therapeutics, a drug developer relying on its CRO founders as it develops assets from the pipeline of biotech Kineta.

- read the statement