CRS Clinical Research Services, a full-service contract research organisation (CRO) based in Andernach and specialising in early-phase trials, has announced a long-term strategic partnership with Bayer HealthCare that involves CRS taking over Bayer’s clinical pharmacology units in Germany.
CRS and Bayer have already worked together successfully for a number of years, and the new R&D service agreement for early-stage clinical trials (Phases I-IIa) builds on that foundation, CRS notes.
CRS will take charge of Bayer HealthCare’s clinical pharmacology units and integrate them into its own network of research centres in Kiel, Lübeck, Mönchengladbach and Mannheim, Germany.
CRS also runs a centralised unit for clinical development (Phases II/III) and modular services in Grünstadt, Germany.
Broader services
Expanding its relationship with Bayer in this way means CRS can broaden its range of services to include specialist expertise in cardiovascular and gynaecological indications. The financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
“We welcome the new highly qualified employees from Bayer HealthCare at the new sites who will help us expand our expertise in cardiovascular and gynaecological indications and where we already plan to create new jobs,” commented Torben Thomsen, president and chief executive officer of CRS.
As well as adding to CRS’s infrastructure, the partnership “marks the consistent continuation of our successful expansion strategy over the past ten years”, Thomsen said.
The CRO’s principal shareholder is Lohmann Therapie-Systeme, which develops and manufactures transdermal and oral thin-film delivery systems for pharmaceutical active ingredients.
CRS has been offering clinical contract-research services for over 35 years now. After integrating the Bayer units, the company will be spread over eight locations in Germany, with a total staff count of more than 280.
