Quintiles, the US-based provider of biopharmaceutical development and commercial outsourcing services, has agreed to acquire Novella Clinical, a full-service clinical research organisation (CRO) focused mainly on emerging oncology, medical devices and diagnostics customers.
No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is subject to the usual closing conditions and is expected to be completed later this quarter. It is not expected to have a material impact on Quintiles’ 2013 earnings per share, the company noted.
Quintiles said it was acquiring Novella Clinical, created from US-based CRO PharmaLinkFHI’s acquisition of Matrix Contract Research in the UK in September 2008, to “stay ahead of the diverse and evolving needs of its global customer base”.
Novella operates out of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, through more than 800 professionals located across North America and Europe.
Once the acquisition is wrapped up, the company will function as a Quintiles unit to be known as ‘Novella Clinical, a Quintiles company’.
Operational needs
Novella’s infrastructure and approach to clinical research were “created with the operational needs of its unique customer base in mind and constructed to best support these specific customer groups”, Quintiles pointed out.
As part of Quintiles, Novella will be able to maintain this specialised focus while leveraging Quintiles’ scale and resources “to provide new global capabilities to its existing and future customers”, its new owner added.
“The expertise and insight the Novella team brings will be a strong addition to our existing capabilities and help further differentiate Quintiles in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” commented Paula Brown Stafford, the latter’s president, clinical development.
Novella’s understanding of emerging companies and the new partners’ shared commitment to quality customer service and patients make “this acquisition a good fit for both organisations”, Brown Stafford said.
Quintiles returned to public ownership in May with a US$947.4 million initial public offering.
