The buy, which cost Parexel roughly $50.9m, provides the firm with added access in China, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Australia where the acquired company, Apex, is currently active. Until now, Parexel owned a minority stake in Apex as it sought four years ago to dip its toes into the water before diving in. During this time the two firms worked together on several projects in the region until Parexel decided to take the relationship to the next level by gaining complete ownership. "The Asia-Pacific region is becoming increasingly important and attractive for a wide range of clinical development activities… We believe that the acquisition of Apex is of great strategic value," said Josef von Rickenbach, chairman and CEO of Parexel, which already has a presence in Japan, India, and Australia. Specifically, the firm said the union brings it the ability to now offer good clinical practice (GCP)-compliant services, especially in late phases of clinical development, in the above-mentioned Asia-Pacific countries; along with clinical and regulatory experts with local experience; and medical expertise and access to patient populations across a wide range of complex and important therapeutic areas, including cardiology, rheumatology, endocrinology, oncology, infectious disease, and neurology. The global CRO will now operate under the new name of Parexel Apex International.
