ACRI bolts on CRO services with Clinesian deal
The deal, financial terms of which are not being disclosed, will combine the Phase I to IV clinical trial services offered by the Advanced Clinical Research Institute (ACRI) with Clinesian’s suite of project management, quality assurance and biostatistics services.
According to a recent Business Insights survey, the global CRO sector is growing by between 14 to 16 per cent a year and is expected to be worth some $24bn (€16.4bn) by 2010.
The study suggested that while 45 per cent of the total market is held by just five companies, including Quintiles, Covance and PPD, the demand for CRO services will continue to grow as major drugmakers seek to reduce development costs in the face of increasing generic competition.
Another key finding of the research is that clinical trials conducted by CRO’s are completed 30 per cent more quickly that those carried out by drug firms in-house. ACRI and Clinesian hope that their new partnership will allow them to capture a significant proportion of this lucrative market.
Gary Slizgi, CEO of Clinesian, said: "Both companies have extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, our CRO expertise in Phase I and ACRI's proven track record as a Phase I research facility will make this strategic alliance a powerful fit."
These thoughts were echoed by Dennis Riff, ACRI’s medical director, who said that the addition of CRO services to the firm’s offering will provide the flexibility and convenience “pharmaceutical customers have come to expect.”
New trial facility
ACRI, which is based in Southern California, recently spent $2.2m on a new medical facility that it intends to convert into a state of the art Phase I clinical research centre.
The 929 square meter site, which is expected to become operational this autumn, is ACRI’s third facility in total and first that will conduct Phase I trials exclusively.
ACRI, which was founded 20 years ago, conducts trials of investigational therapies for migraine, insomnia, chronic pain, osteoporosis, hormone replacement therapy and diabetes among other indications.
Clinesian, which was co-founded by ClinicAid Research Management and Quartesian, will initially provide data monitoring and management and medical writing services to ACRI’s pharmaceutical clients.
