U.K. contractor Ergomed has made Asian landfall, opening an office in Taiwan with eyes on forging traditional CRO deals and signing risk-sharing agreements with drugmakers.
The company, which went public last year, set up shop in Taipei to establish a hub for doing business in Asia. Ergomed divides its business into two segments: a services unit that works like a traditional contractor, handling studies from early phases to post-marketing; and a co-development arm, which inks risk-sharing deals that trade development work for a share of future revenue on a product.
And now the firm plans to take that model into a new market.
"The Taiwan operations are in line with our strategy to expand in Asia through organic growth and acquisitions as stated at our IPO," CEO Miroslav Reljanovic said in a statement. "We are currently working with some exciting Taiwanese companies, and the new office gives us the platform to offer our services to pharma and biotech companies in the entire region."
In 2014, Ergomed boosted its revenue by 14% to £22 million ($33.4 million), wrapping the year with a £60 million ($91.1 million) backlog and ambitions for further growth in 2015.
Ergomed is on the verge of some major milestones with its co-development partners, working through Phase III with Cel-Sci ($CVM), Synta Pharmaceuticals ($SNTA) and Aeterna Zentaris ($AEZS) while nearing Phase II with Ferrer. And the company inked another partnership with Dilaforette, teaming up on sickle-cell disease in its first orphan drug project.
Over the summer, the CRO made its way onto London's AIM market, netting about $16.6 million and using some of the proceeds to buy PrimeVigilance, a pharmacovigilance reporting outfit.
- read the statement