Contract research organisation, Quintiles Transnational, has acquired Profiad, the market leader partner for managing clinical trials in the UK, for an undisclosed price.

Profiad offers “complete recruitment, monitoring and trial management solutions” for the full range of studies from Phase IIb to IV and Jane Eisner, Quintiles’ senior vice president for access to patients services, said this explains the rationale behind the deal as “access to the right patients at the right time is absolutely crucial for the effective completion of clinical trials.”

The buyer also noted that the Profiad network of doctors makes a good strategic fit with Innovex, Quintile’s subsidiary which is the country’s, and indeed the world’s, largest contract sales organisation.

Meantime in the USA, Quintiles is selling three of its business units – Preclinical Services, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Clinical Trial Supplies – to Aptuit for $125 million. The companies have also signed a commercial agreement that will last for two years.