US-based contract research organisation (CRO) Quintiles has added further weight to its fast-expanding consulting business by agreeing to acquire Eidetics, a privately held decision-analytics and market research consulting firm located in Boston, for an undisclosed sum.
Quintiles said the acquisition, which is subject to completion of certain conditions in the purchase agreement, will strengthen its core consulting offerings in the areas of product development, commercialisation and market access. Eidetics has been providing research-based market insights and data analytics to support decision-making in drug development and commercialisation for the last 20 years and counts among its repeat customers 18 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies, Quintiles noted.
Last October the CRO underlined its commitment to the growing Quintiles Consulting business by appointing a new president, Jay Norman, to drive growth in the operation. The consulting unit provides global input to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies on strategic product development, from discovery through to clinical trials, as well as regulatory compliance and analysis of pricing and reimbursement, health economics and market conditions.
At the time, Quintiles said it was investing in further growth of the business “to help meet the needs of its customers as they face increasingly complex regulatory, development and market challenges”. Last month the company continued down that path by appointing three new practice leaders and a business development head for Quintiles Consulting.
Dr John Doyle, formerly of Analytica International, was named practice leader, market access, US. Dr Adrian McKerney joined Quintiles from the Boston Consulting Group as practice leader, product development and commercialisation, US. Dr Jim Featherstone from Wood Mackenzie became practice leader, regulatory and quality and product development and commercialisation, Europe.
The business development head was Matt Eberhart, who was previously an executive management team member at venture capital and advisory firm Katalyst. Eberhart was appointed vice-president, business development for Quintiles Consulting, the consulting unit, leading business development efforts in the US and serving as the internal liaison to the broader Quintiles organisation.
