Parexel seals ClinPhone deal
pharmafile | August 15, 2008 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â Â
Parexel has finalised its acquisition of ClinPhone after rivals Quintiles dropped out of the race for the clinical technology firm.
Parexel will now integrate the Nottingham-based clinical technology company into its existing technology subsidiary Perceptive, making it one of the industry's largest eClinical technology providers.
Former ClinPhone chief executive Steve Kent will head up Perceptive, and he said the tie-up would give it more resources and a broader range of technical and clinical expertise.
"Both companies bring tremendous capabilities to this deal. As a combined clinical technology company, Perceptive Informatics enables customers to benefit from the efficiency of best-in-class software and services from one source," he added.
Parexel's £91 million bid for the company spurred Quintiles on to announce it would make a counter-bid, but it eventually decided not to pursue the takeover, and will focus instead on developing in-house technology.
Parexel and Quintiles, like other major CROs, are diversifying and deepening their expertise in specific areas of drug development by acquiring smaller companies such as ClinPhone.
The UK company was founded in 1993 and has pioneered the use of simple telephone and web-based technology to capture clinical trial data and make it easier to process.
ClinPhone has grown rapidly over the last 15 years, thanks to its success in producing software which simplifies clinical trials processes and helps to cut R&D costs – issues which are more pressing than ever for the industry.
Commenting on the acquisition Parexel's chief executive Josef von Rickenbach said it strengthened his company's leadership in integrated clinical and technology expertise.
"Combining the sophisticated, in-depth capabilities of Perceptive and ClinPhone represents a major step forward for Parexel in meeting increased industry demand for a truly comprehensive eClinical platform," he added.
