Accelovance to add 70 clinical research jobs at Welsh site

13-Aug-2015 - Last updated on 14-Aug-2015 at 13:55 GMT

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CRO (contract research organization) Accelovance has accepted a grant from the government of Wales and will open a new site in Swansea with 70 new employees.

With a focus on oncology, vaccines, and pain, CNS and osteoarthritis trials, Maryland-based Accelovance will look to use the site to expand on its recent acquisition of Altair Clinical, which brought the company into the UK. Altair adds new expertise in rare diseases and medical devices.

"This opportunity provided by the Welsh Government will allow us to shift our primary UK operations to Wales which provides a highly-talented scientific workforce to support the continued growth of Accelovance," said Jamie Oliver, Executive Director for European and Asian Operations.

Michael Keens, VP of business development at Accelovance, told Outsourcing-Pharma.com that the bulk of the new employees will be from Swansea and will include clinical trial monitors, project managers and multilingual employees to work the call centers.

“We know based on the employee skills in the area that the data call center will be filled quickly,” Keens said.

The move to Wales will complement the company’s existing offices in Russia and Israel. Back in 2013, Accelovance also acquired the contract research division of Radiant Research.

As far as the future for the company’s M&A, Keens said several staff members are exploring additional opportunities now in Europe.