Oracle to buy Phase Forward $685m

18-Apr-2010 - Last updated on 05-Dec-2023 at 14:57 GMT

IT giant Oracle will pay $685m (€507m) for eClinical solutions firm Phase Forward, significantly expanding its presence in the billion dollar contract clinical research sector.

The deal adds Phase Forward’s range of electronic data capture (EDC) and response software to Oracle’s offering, strengthening its position in a market that Forrester Research recently predicted will be worth $26bn this year

Oracle Health Sciences (OHS) manager Neil de Crescenzo acknowledged this potential, commenting that: “Phase Forward brings outstanding products and employees with significant expertise to Oracle.”

Crescenzo also set the Phase Forward deal in a wider context, explaining that: “The life sciences and healthcare industries are converging as they seek to control costs while accelerating patient-centred innovation.”

Since setting up the OHS unit in 2008 Oracle has been steadily building its profile in the healthcare sector with new products and, in April 2009, the acquisition of safety and pharmacovigilance specialist Relsys.

However, while the Relsys buy built Oracle’s capacity in preclinical testing and development, Phase Forward’s strength in the more valuable clinical research market makes the deal a more significant move.

For example, Phase Forward claims its services have been used in more than 10,000 studies by both Big Pharma firms like GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) , Sanofi-Aventis and Astrazeneca and major contractors like Quintiles, Covance and Parexel.