ReSearch buys Chinese CRO
Delaware, US-based RPS will pay around $1m in cash as well as around 531,000 shares to gain control of Paramax, with the transaction due to complete sometime next month.
The move will give RPS expanded capabilities in the Asian market, said RPS, which has already expanded from the US into Europe and Latin America in the last couple of years.
RPS first started a push to internationalise its business in 2006/2007 with an expansion into Latin America, and followed it up in 2008 with a push into Europe. Last December, RPS bought France’s Therapherm Recherches, Imerem of Germany and Spanish CRO Infociencia for a total of €7.4m, plus stock. The company says 2009 will mark its expansion into Asian markets.
“The acquisition of Paramax will be a key event in the expansion of our existing operations for providing globally integrated clinical research services,” commented RPS’ chief executive Dan Perlman.
Paramax, set up in 2003, represents the first phase of that expansion. The company has headquarters in Beijing and an operations office in Shanghai which will serve as RPS’ Asian headquarters.
The Chinese CRO has a stake in a Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) certified laboratory set up with China’s Center for Evaluation of Drug Safety at the Second Military Medical University (SMMU) in Shanghai.
It specialises in toxicology and pharmacology studies, clinical monitoring, patient recruitment and clinical data management and biostatistics. Paramax also offers consulting, regulatory affairs, project management and medical writing services.
RPS’ 2008 results, published last week, indicate that its service revenues advanced more than 30 per cent to $157m, with earning before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation up a third to $8m.
