UK's Cyprotex buys US CRO Apredica in $4.2 million deal; Quintiles sets up new European HQ

Macclesfield, UK-based contract research organization (CRO) Cyprotex says that it has agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of Apredica, a USA-based CRO specializing in preclinical ADME and toxicology assessment. Immediately preceding Cyprotex' acquisition of the US firm, Apredica acquired the intellectual property and all other assets necessary for offering the Cellular Systems Biology (CSB) and high content toxicology services previously offered by Cellumen.

The total consideration for the acquisition of Apredica is £2.68 million ($4.2 million) to be satisfied through a combination of 44,730,297 new Cyprotex shares and £1 million in cash. The transaction was unanimously recommended by the Boards of both Cyprotex and Apredica, and does not require shareholder approval.

The combination of Cyprotex and Apredica brings together two market leaders specializing in preclinical ADME Tox, giving the combined organization operations in the world's two largest centers of drug discovery, Europe and North America, said the UK firm. The two companies have little overlap in their customer bases. The acquisition of Apredica's preclinical toxicology services and the assets of Cellumen enhances Cyprotex' entry into the in vitro toxicology market, which will soon be further bolstered by the company's new toxicology laboratory in Macclesfield, opening on October 1 this year, the firm noted.