Veeda Clinical Research, an Anglo-Indian contract research organisation (CRO) formed in October 2005, has acquired a Phase I clinical research unit in Görlitz, eastern Germany.
Established in 1992 close to the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic, the 40-bed facility is Veeda’s second acquisition in Europe following the takeover of Brussels-based CRO DICE last December. Added to the Belgian unit and Veeda’s UK facility in Plymouth, the Görlitz site gives the company “a broad base for early clinical development in Europe,” it said.
Veeda is also consolidating its European business by setting up a large-molecule analytical laboratory in the Oxford Science Park.
Site integration
The German unit is already being integrated with the Plymouth facility. The aim is that the two sites together will provide the clinical component of Veeda’s European operations, supported by laboratory capabilities in Oxford and statistics and data management in Brussels. The existing management team in Görlitz will continue to oversee day-to-day operations and relationships with key customers.
Veeda was formed through a merger of Ahmedabad, India-based ClinSearch Labs Pvt Ltd, the UK contract research organisation Phase I CTU Ltd and Triphasic Clinical Trials Laboratories of Plymouth. Between them the Ahmedabad and Plymouth units offer around 185 beds in total. With last year’s acquisition of DICE, Veeda tapped into 15 years’ experience of data management, biostatistics, statistical analysis and medical writing for clinical trials.
‘Right trial, right place’
The business model is “the right trial in the right place”, with the European units available for more specialised studies and the Indian facility sold on the promise of “vast populations, excellent turnaround times and considerable economies.” Veeda also gained access to preclinical and pharmaceutical development capabilities last November through a strategic alliance with Advinus Therapeutics, based in Bangalore, India.
As a next step, the company is looking at acquisition opportunities in the US, noting that its plans for the medium term address “the need for CROs serving the pharmaceutical industry to have a global presence.”
