QPS buys majority of Austria's largest independent CRO

In a second European acquisition, USA-based QPS, a full-service GLP/GCP-compliant contract research organization, yesterday announced the acquisition of a majority interest in Austrian firm JSW Life Sciences GmbH, which provides preclinical and clinical Phase II-IV drug development services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide, and will be known as QPS JSW. Financial terms of the transaction were not revealed.

In 2010, QPS completed its acquisition of Xendo Drug Development BV, a European contract research organization headquartered in Groningen, the Netherlands (The Pharma Letter July 28, 2010).

JSW has developed its reputation over the past 13 years as a full service, high quality CRO and the leading specialist in CNS diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, stroke, depression, psychosis and schizophrenia, says QPS. JSW's reputation in the CNS field is further enhanced by its capabilities in preclinical efficacy studies including in vitro molecular and cellular analysis. JSW is the leading provider of genetically modified organisms for research in CNS diseases and the only company that can combine behavioral analysis (cognition and motoric function), brain neurochemistry and biochemistry as well as quantitative histology and histopathology into preclinical research. In addition, JSW has experience and access to unique biomarker technologies, owning, for example, the worldwide exclusive license to the A4-assay for A-beta oligomers from Amorfix.