NCGS Laboratories, Inc.

As the CRO industry continues to consolidate, another company is looking to get in on the multi-national action with its latest move. Avance Clinical, an Australian-based CRO for biotech companies, has acquired US-based research organization C3 Research Associates for $40 million, giving the company a solid foothold on North American soil. The private equity group Riverside backed Avance’s move, and the new US operations are forecasted to generate $30 million to $40 million in revenue over the next two years. Avance said it will be making significant investments in the US operations, including growing the team to more than 120 people and leveraging its deep industry experience across a broad range of therapeutic areas, in particular oncology. The due diligence for the move took around six months, according to the company. “Avance Clinical has been working with C3 Research Associates in recent years and they share a similar culture and focus on customer service and clinical excellence. This strong relationship made C3 Research Associates a natural acquisition choice,” Avance CEO Yvonne Lungershausen said in a statement. According to Avance, the acquisition also will give biotech companies in both Australia and New Zealand, who are also in the early stages of development, a way to get their clinical programs in the US. Likewise, the move also gives clients access to benefits on the Australian side as well. Avance has access to a 43.5% rebate on clinical trial costs that the Government of Australia gives to R&D initiatives. Avance is not the only CRO making big moves. In July, Labcorp announced that it is spinning out its CRO business, known as Covance, eight years after its $6 billion acquisition. In the spring , Singapore-based Novotech acquired US-based NCGS to expand its global offerings to customers in the US. Last year, Icon , a Dublin-based CRO, snapped up PRA Health Sciences for $12 billion in a move that shook up some of the higher echelons of the CRO market.

Through the acquisition, Novotech can now offer clinical services to biotech clients in the US to carry out late-stage trials. Novotech has acquired US-based contract research organisation (CRO) NCGS to expand its global expertise. The takeover is part of a service expansion programme for Novotech’s international client base. An Asia-Pacific biotech specialist CRO, Novotech offers full-service, high-quality accelerated clinical trials in the region. With the acquisition of NCGS, Novotech could provide clinical services to its biotech clients in the US to carry out late-stage international trials. Novotech CEO Dr John Moller said: “This is a strategic move to provide US-based expertise and infrastructure for our US clients wanting trials in APAC and the US, and for our APAC clients wanting US clinical programmes.” “Clients will receive seamless service, with a unified approach to systems and SOPs well developed. To serve biotechs across the globe, Novotech uses its deep associations created with several Asia-Pacific sites over the past 25 years. NCGS supports this approach with an extensive site base in the US comprising hundreds of investigators with associations spanning nearly 40 years. NCGS founder and CEO Nancy Snowden said: “Novotech and NCGS have a longstanding collaboration history of over a decade which will also support the seamless integration.” “NCGS focuses on complex areas of clinical development; oncology, haematology, infectious disease, and CNS in both adult and paediatric populations. In January this year, Novotech entered a strategic collaboration with healthcare data technology company Prospection to merge the power of real-world data and clinical trials to deliver therapies to patients rapidly. Under the deal, Novotech will invest in Prospection, with the latter becoming a technology partner of the company. Prospection will offer real-world data analytics for trial feasibility analysis, execution and recruitment in the Asia-Pacific region.