The acquisition follows the company’s re-sign with Pfizer, a three-year agreement under which Pfizer has the opportunity to extend the term for up to two additional years – a change in terms from its previous contract.
The news also follows inVentiv coming out as Pfizer’s fourth CRO, earlier this week. This addition, while speculated for some time, is likely to shake up Pfizer’s deals with its other CROs, including Icon.
Specifically, analysts expect Icon to see less business from the pharma giant. As Outsourcing-Pharma.com previously reported, David Windley, CFA, CPA, Managing Directors, Healthcare Equity Research, Jefferies, expects Icon will have a smaller slice of Pfizer’s business as it doesn’t want to be “as exposed to one vendor as they have been in the past.”
However, Icon’s announcement today secures a new line of customers and extends its capabilities in the areas of vaccines and infectious disease – presumably, as it also looks to be less reliant on one company.
ClinicalRM currently provides full service and functional research solutions to a range of US government agencies. ICON’s CEO, Ciaran Murray commented on the government sponsored research market in the company’s press release, saying that it is “significant with over fifteen hundred active clinical studies being funded by the National Institutes of Health or other federal agencies.”
Murray added that ClinicalRM’s relationships and experience will help the company partner successfully with government sponsors as Icon looks to diversity its customer base.
Icon did not respond to a request for comment.