Partnering with Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) gives Clearstone access to an array of speciality capabilities. Also, combining LabCorp’s expertise in North America with Clearstone’s global network expands the geographic reach both organisations can offer clients.
Lewis Cameron, CEO of Clearstone, told Outsourcing-Pharma: “LabCorp’s expertise in North America and impressive biomarker and esoteric capabilities offers clients something really compelling to evaluate for their upcoming clinical studies.
“As sponsors pare back the number of outsourcing relationships they wish to maintain, a need has arisen for central labs to offer a truly global footprint with scientific expertise in a broad range of testing, from higher volume safety testing to biomarker and other more esoteric testing.”
Partnering could also help Clearstone build its in-house capabilities. LabCorp and Clearstone will “work together to grow and cultivate expertise and scientific capabilities in strategic regions”, said Cameron. The lab in Beijing, China was highlighted as one such “strategic region”.
Clients will be able to assess the range of capabilities at both companies before deciding to outsource to one or both. Business development teams will remain distinct but clients can choose to work with a single point of contact. Each partner will earn revenues for the work they perform.
Opportunities
The customer bases of both companies are quite different, said Cameron, creating “many exciting opportunities”. Clearstone and LabCorp have already begun the collaboration and will develop and refine aspects of it in response to the needs of clients.
Cameron said: “We have been delighted by the positive response to the collaboration already. The one-stop, best-of-breed nature of the collaboration seems to have struck a chord with many current and potential clients.”
Terms of the collaboration have not been disclosed. However, David Johnston, vice president and global head, clinical trials at LabCorp, told Outsourcing-Pharma: “We are all coming to this with a view that the collaboration will be long term and lasting.”