Contract research firm Manipal AcuNova acquires Germany''s ECRON

05 November 2007

The two CROs will now combine the clinical research expertise of ECRON''s 20 years experience, with MAL''s association with India'' largest medical university.

MAL will provide end-to-end services for Phase I - IV clinical trials including project management, clinical data management (CDM), biostatistics, medical writing, central lab and bio-availability / bio equivalence (BA/BE) studies to pharma, biotech, device and diagnostic companies.

The combined strength will be 265 employees, slated to grow year on year. Frankfurt will be European HQ, Princeton for the US and Bangalore for Asia. While D A Prasanna, founder, vice chairman and managing director, will continue to lead the global operations based out of Bangalore, Dr Klaus Wiedey, MD, who is the current president of ECRON will be president, Europe, and Dr Kohkan Shamsi, MD PhD will be CEO in the US.

"AcuNova is a company built on quality making it a primary reason for ECRON''s choice in this synergy," said Dr Wiedey, president, ECRON. "This collaboration will benefit our European and US clients. The possibility of extending trials from Europe to India will make drug development faster. Trial data can be analyzed with biostatisticians and data management professionals from India, speeding up submission to regulators like EMEA and US FDA. We can take up bigger complex projects with a broader range of services like central lab and PK / PD service"

On process standardisation, he added, "Highest ICH GCP and FDA standards will be deployed across the organisation hence clinical operations will use German practices and DM will use the Indian practice. We foresee harmonization of SOP''s within the next six months."

On the acquisition, D A Prasanna, vice chairman and founder, MAL, said "Industry experience shows bringing a drug into market takes 8-10 years. Indian CRO''s do not have a track record in seeing a drug through development and into market. Hence this merger will combine MAL''s access to investigators and patients with ECRON''s quality reputation making drugs available faster. Clients will be able to conduct trials at West and East European Hospitals and enter regulated markets"