The Australian preclinical contract research organisation (CRO) bought RMIT Drug Discovery Technologies (RDDT) last week in an all share deal that will see all RDDT employees join vivoPharm.
CEO Ralf Brandt told Outsourcing-pharma.com that: “RDDT is a high quality company in both science and its facility," which he described as superior to vivoPharm's old lab in Adelaide.
"We'll gain enormous capacity for safety and toxicology testing, which we expect will grow from less than 10 per cent of our revenue last FY to 25 per cent within 18 months.”
Before the deal vivoPharm shared Australia’s toxicity testing market with RDDT and Sydney-based CRO ICP Firefly, both of which “had taken away business from vivoPharm” according to Brandt.
“With the acquisition [of RDDT] we bought significant market share and would be able now to serve our international clients from Europe and the US with this increased testing capacity.”
From a capability standpoint RDDT add LC/MC-MS bioanalytical, pathology, genotoxicity and non-rodent testing to vivoPharm’s offering, all of which the CRO previously outsourced to other providers.
Relocation nears completion
Brandt also explained that vivoPharm has almost completed transferring all safety, toxicity and bioanalytical testing to RDDT’s lab at UMIT University’s Bundora campus in Melbourne from its old HQ in Adelaide, which closed a few weeks ago.
Efficacy testing work perviously carried out in Adelaide will be conducted at vivoPharm’s recently opened vivarium in Hershey, Pennsylvania in the US according to Bradt, who explained how the Adelaide closure had affected the firm’s employees.
“Every employee got an offer to relocate either to Melbourne or to Hershey. Some have taken the offer and are now located in Hershey or working remotely or locally for the Melbourne entity. Others if applicable received a severance package.”