Since acquiring assets from MDS Pharma Services, Clearstone has taken a number of steps to restructure and refocus the organisation. The latest of these is the decision to exit the CCS business.
CCS is a relatively small part of the business, Bernie Clark, director, global marketing and communications, told Outsourcing-Pharma. Consequently, it was felt too great an investment would have been needed to remain competitive against specialist companies in the market.
The move will impact sites in Toronto, Canada and Paris, France but it is unclear at this stage how many employees will be affected and over what timeframe.
Clearstone will continue to support clients currently using CCS but has stopped accepting new business. As the current business finishes the company will lay off employees to align staffing with demand.
In a press statement Lewis Cameron, CEO of Clearstone, said: “We will be taking every step possible to support affected staff and continue providing clients with the highest level of service during the transition period.”
The transition period will either end with CCS closing or being sold. Clark said it would be premature to predict the outcome but believes finding a buyer would be good news for everyone.
Core lab focus
Exiting the CCS sector will allow Clearstone to focus resources on its core laboratory business. This contributes the majority of revenues and since acquiring it from MDS Clearstone has talked about expanding its geographic reach and service offering.
Clark said that this is continuing through investments in pharmacogenomics, the Apollo central laboratory protocol management system and operations in Beijing, China. In earlier interviews Clearstone has expressed an interest in expanding into Latin America, India and Russia.