ICON, the international contract research organisation (CRO) based in Dublin, Ireland, has acquired Prevalere Life Sciences, a US company that provides bioanalytical and immunoassay laboratory services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, for up to US$43.2 million.
ICON will pay US$35 million upfront in cash for Prevalere, a wholly owned subsidiary of ORS Labs Inc with a 49,000 sq ft facility in Whitesboro, New York. Up to US$8.2 million may be payable on top of that if certain performance milestones are met.
Prevalere will complement ICON’s existing bioanalytical laboratory capabilities based in Europe, where ICON Development Solutions recently moved to a new purpose-built bioanalytical and immunoassay laboratory in Manchester, UK, the CRO noted.
The acquisition “gives ICON much greater scale in the rapidly growing market for bioanalytical and immunoassay laboratory services and adds value to our service offering in early-phase clinical development”, commented chief executive officer Peter Gray. “Prevalere brings to ICON a highly experienced team, an excellent lab facility in the United States and a strong market reputation amongst top-tier pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.”
Indian central laboratory
ICON also recently announced it had opened a full-service central laboratory in Bangalore, India. This purpose-built, 15,000 sq ft facility, which is in the process of receiving accreditation from the College of American Pathologists and from India’s National Accreditation Board for Laboratory Testing, joins the existing network of labs run by ICON Central Laboratories in Dublin, Singapore and Farmingdale, New York.
In connection with the new opening, Dr Anuradha Rajput has been appointed general manager, ICON Central Laboratories India. Rajput joins ICON from Clinigene International, where she served as general manager and laboratory director.
“Having a fully-owned facility in India provides clients with the reassurance that our core laboratory services, ranging from sample management and testing to final data transfer, adhere to our stringent global standards,” said Bob Scott-Edwards, president of ICON Central Laboratories. “We also offer a test menu that is second to none, which avoids the need to export samples and makes ICON a one-stop shop for clients looking to conduct complex clinical trials in India.
