Count Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) among the clinical research organizations continuing the industry M&A activity.
The Ireland-based CRO has acquired PriceSpective, a CRO with a consulting focus and expertise in drug pricing. Icon didn’t disclose what it paid for the PriceSpective acquisition. But Outsourcing Pharma reports that William Blair analyst John Kreger among others say the deal will cost Icon $50 million in up front and milestone payments.
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The PriceSpective deal follows completion of the BeijingWits Medical Consulting acquisition, which adds to Icon’s presence in China. Much of the CRO acquisition activity of the last year has been driven by the desire of large CROs to add specialties that they don’t already have or boost their capabilities in key geographic regions.
Philadelphia-based PriceSpective offers expertise in global pricing, reimbursement and market access strategies for pharmaceutical companies. The firm brings Icon expertise in showing to payers a drug’s value not only in terms of its efficacy, but also in its price — information that payers increasingly want to see in making their reimbursement decisions. PriceSpective has developed strategies for “dozens of new product launches and hundreds of development and in-market products.”
Other CROs have made similar acquisitions in order to position themselves as one-stop shops for pharmaceutical industry business. Last January, Raleigh, North Carolina-based INC Research acquired AVOS Life Sciences to boost its consulting offerings. InVentiv Health followed shortly with its acquisition of Raleigh pharmaceutical consulting firm Campbell Alliance. Durham, North Carolina-based Quintiles completed several acquisitions late last year that rounded out the companies early and late-stage drug commercialization offerings.
Icon CEO Ciaran Murray said in a statement that the PriceSpective deal complements its 2011 acquisition of Oxford Outcomes, which strengthened the CRO’s late-phase and outcomes research services. An Icon spokesman told MedCity News that there is no overlap between Icon and PriceSpective’s offerings. Besides its Philadelphia headquarters, PriceSpective also has locations in London, Los Angeles, San Diego, Raleigh and Boston.
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MedCity News Philadelphia Bureau Chief Stephanie Baum contributed to this report.
