Oracle buys eClinical specialist Phase Forward for $685m
pharmafile | April 20, 2010 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â Covance, Oracle, Phase ForwardÂ
Business software giant Oracle has taken a leap forward in the healthcare arena with a $685 million cash offer to acquire eClinical specialist Phase Forward.
The deal reinforces Oracle’s Health Sciences unit, which was set up in 2008 to draw on a clinical trial management platform, based on a customer-relationship management (CRM) software developed by the firm’s Siebel business unit.
In 2009 Oracle boosted that division with the purchase of Relsys, which focuses on drug safety, risk management and analytics applications, especially in the early-stage research setting such as preclinical development. Adding Phase Forward to the offering bolsters Oracle Health Sciences’ offering in the later-stage, clinical research sector.
Recently-published data from GBI Research indicate that the eClinical market – including electronic data capture (EDC), clinical trial management systems (CTMS), electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) and interactive voice/web response (IVRS) – was valued at around $960 million in 2008 and is expected to grow to $1.34 billion by 2015.
The fastest growing sectors, with compound annual growth rates tipped at 8.5% and 9.4%, respectively, are expected to be ePRO and IVRS, according to GBI Research. Phase Forward has a strong market position for both of these technologies.
Oracle said that combining its products with Phase Forward’s will “enable researchers, clinical development professionals, physicians, regulators and patients to more effectively and securely capture, contribute, access and share data”.
Adding this capability should also make it easier for Oracle to encourage pharmaceutical customers to buy its other business software products, including middleware, database and enterprise management applications, and increase its ability to compete with rivals, particularly SAP which has a strong position in the pharmaceutical industry.
Last year, the company also acquired technology from Conformia used for managing the design and development of pharmaceuticals.
Oracle is offering $17 a share for Phase Forward, around a third over of its recent trading price, and the overall purchase price is more than three times the eClinical company’s 2009 revenues of $214 million.
The deal is subject to shareholder approval and is expected to close sometime in mid-year 2010.
The move follows a prolonged period of consolidation in the eClinical sector which has seen larger companies such as Phase Forward buy up smaller players to expand their portfolios. The overall aim is to offer a single, integrated platform to allow customers to meet all their clinical data-handling needs from a single vendor.
Phase Forward acquired the interactive voice and web response (IVR/IWR) services business of Covance for $10 million in cash and Waban Software, which makes clinical data analysis systems, for $14 million.
Related Content
M&A activity drives record year for pharma outsourcing deals
A drastic increase pharma industry in M&A activity has propelled the value of pharmaceutical outsourcing …
LabCorp buys Covance for $6.1 billion
US medical diagnostics firm LabCorp has entered the drug development business via a $6.1 billion …
Covance opens expanded Singapore lab
Covance has expanded its central laboratory facility in Singapore to meet growing demand for drug …
