The takeover– which will be discussed by Kinesis’ shareholders next month – would bolster Venn’s consultancy and services offering in the early-phase drug development space, which is a growing opportunity according to CEO Tony Richardson.
“The drug development industry is now addressing potential efficacy and safety issues much earlier in the development cycle as a means to save cost and time.
“The acquisition of Kinesis Pharma enhances our offering in this early stage development arena, allowing us to establish relationships earlier and enabling enhanced cross selling of downstream services” Richardson added.
Kinesis employs a staff of 60 people at its base in the Netherlands and its site in Singapore. The firm generated revenue of €5.9m last year, with earning reaching €600,000.
News of the offer coincided with the publication of Venn’s financial results for the six months to the end of June.
The contract research organisation (CRO) posted revenue of €4.3m, up from €1.5m in the equivalent period last year, and a loss of €40,000 down from almost €1m in 2014.
Venn non-executive chairman David Evans address the proposed acquisition in his results commentary, telling investors “the acquisition of Kinesis will enable earlier and longer engagement with clients as we can now offer services across a broader range of areas.
He added that: “The Venn Kinesis combination affords an opportunity to cross-sell services to an expanded client base and greatly differentiate the business.”
Venn’s previous preclinical services-focused acquisition Evocutis in 2013. That deal added the Labskin testing technology – a non-animal based screening platform used to test cosmetics and pharmaceuticals – to the CRO’s early phase development offering.