Parexel sells French lab & ups stake in Indian CRO

April 2, 2008 - PRLog -- Parexel International (Boston, Massachusetts) has sold its stand-alone bioanalytical laboratory in Poitiers, France, to privately owned Indian CRO Synchron Research Services (Ahmedabad, Gujarat).  Synchron’s subsidiary, Synexel Research International, paid $6.7 million for the laboratory.  At the same time, Parexel has increased its stake in Synchron’s Phase I clinical pharmacology business from 19.5% to 31%, at a cost of $5 million.

The French laboratory will now be known as Synexel Research International SAS, and all staff have joined Synchron’s bioanalytical business unit.  Established in 1977, the lab was acquired by Parexel in 1999.  It specialises in the development of drug bioassays and bio-markers for use in clinical trials.

Parexel has had a relationship with Synchron since 2004, when the two companies entered into a strategic collaboration.  The relationship was expanded in 2006, when Parexel bought a majority stake in Synchron’s clinical trials business in Bangalore, India, and a minority equity interest in its Ahmedabad clinical pharmacology business.  In 2007, Parexel opened its own office in Hyderabad, to offer clinical research and data management services in India.

The Ahmedabad Phase I facility will be installing Parexel’s ClinBase bedside management system in 14 beds by the end of March 2008.  Synchron is also investing in capabilities for conducting glucose clamp studies in the unit this year.

“We have a long-term commitment to conducting high-quality clinical studies in India, and continue to strengthen our presence, both in India and globally,” said Parexel chairman and CEO Josef H von Rickenbach.  The company has clinical pharmacology units in the US, UK, Europe, and South Africa, providing bioanalytical services, data management, biostatistics, medical writing, and pharmacokinetic services for early-phase clinical studies.  Therapeutic areas covered include central nervous system, cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolism/endocrine and oncology.

Synchron says it was the first private CRO to be started in India, in 1998.  It provides a range of Phase I-IV clinical research services, including data management, and is expanding in the areas of dermatology, in vitro technologies and high-throughput screening.  Synchron has a joint venture, Bio-Innova Synchron Research, in Bangkok, Thailand.  “We are looking for more operations in other countries soon to increase our footprint in Asia,” said Synchron founder and CEO Dr Shivprakash Rathnam. Article submitted by www.jobs4dd.com, a specialist online recruitment service for the clinical trial and drug development sectors.

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