Canada’s leading contract research organisation Allied Research International has purchased the key assets of South Florida Bioavailability Clinic International’s operations in Miami, Florida, for an undisclosed amount.

"These include a fully-functional clinical laboratory, equipment and a 46-station cardiac monitoring suite with capacity to monitor up to 40 subjects," Dr Piyush Patel, Chief Executive of the firm, told PharmaTimes Clinical.com. These will be "relocated to ARI’s new state-of-the-art, 150-bed Phase I clinic in Miami that opened this spring,” said the company.

ARI will also employ selected leading staff of approximately 11 from SFBC’s Miami operations, Dr Patel said, as part of a move that will substantially boost the group’s capacity to perform complex Phase I and special population studies in the Miami area.

"The clinical laboratory is a good fit for Allied as it helps us provide the studies where we need an on-site clinical laboratory. It also supports our multi-center clinical trial monitoring services," he told PharmaTimesClinical.com.

The move should help give ARI a competitive edge over its rivals, as few other CROs in the region specialise in these types of studies, the company noted.

"We see the Phase I research services marketing moving more toward studies that require special populations and specialized services. With our set up in Miami, we are poised to deliver the services that our clients are looking for," Dr Patel said.