US-based contract research organisation (CRO) Omnicare Clinical Research has underlined its break with its former parent earlier this year by rebranding as Theorem Clinical Research.
In April, Omnicare Clinical announced it had been acquired for an undisclosed sum by private equity firm Nautic Partners.
The CRO’s parent company, pharmacy services provider Omnicare, Inc, had committed to divesting its CRO Services business in the first quarter of 2011, citing unfavourable market conditions and the business’s strategic incompatibility with its asset portfolio.
According to Theorem, launching the new brand “marks the final step” in the CRO’s separation from its former parent, driven by a long-cherished ambition to “stand on its own and deliver results the way that clients need”.
Full service
Theorem Clinical Research will continue to provide full-service clinical trial management, drawing on some 1,000 staff across 32 countries worldwide and maintaining its existing focus on core CRO (Early Phase, Phase II/III, Late Phase)as well as specialised business units (Pharmaceutics, Medical Devices, Technical Services - Biometrics & Clinical Data Management).
“The re-branding of the company is not something that happened overnight,” said Dr James Pusey, president and chief executive officer of Theorem Clinical Research – a position he held prior to the Nautic acquisition.
“This is 25 years in the making. We are now able to be more agile and efficient since we are now in the driver’s seat of our own company. We strive to be able to work the way our clients do.”
The name ‘Theorem’ “defines who we are”, Pusey added. “Proven. Scientific. Smart. Theorem is a company that seeks out the toughest trials and helps our clients get to a decision point faster.”
Private equity trend
Omnicare Clinical Research is one of a number of CROs in recent years to have staked its future on private-equity investment as the shift towards strategic outsourcing in the sector threatens to leave some less well-equipped players out in the cold.
Just last month, US-based Medpace announced plans for an “equity recapitalisation” with affiliates of CCMP Capital Advisors, under which CCMP will end up with an 80% stake in the company while the remaining 20% share will belong to the current Medpace management team.
Other companies in the contract research space that have resorted to private equity backing in the last few years include InVentiv Health and PharmaNet in the US as well as Phlexglobal, ClinTec and Premier Research Group in the UK.
