The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, which sees Cromsource and its subsidiaries become a part of ClinChoice Medical Development. The latter company is a Chinese clinical research organization (CRO) that has established a presence in North America, China, India, Japan, and the Philippines.
According to ClinChoice, the combination of the two companies’ clinical research operations will strengthen its global network and deepen its full-service capabilities.
ClinChoice provides clinical trial services across drug, medical devices, vaccines, cosmetics, and the consumer health sectors. The company states that it has completed over 1,500 clinical studies across various therapeutic areas, including oncology, rare disease, and respiratory, among others.
The acquired company, Cromsource, operates through pharmaceutical, medical device, biometrics, and staffing solution teams.
The pharmaceutical division provides planning and delivery of clinical research; the medical devices division is able to help on the regulatory elements of gaining approval for such items in the US and Europe; the biometrics division works to provide clinical data management, statistics and medical writing services; and, the staffing solution is able to provide partners with clinical research professionals.
The company has operations in seven countries in Western and Eastern Europe, including at its European headquarters in Verona, Italy, as well as having a presence in the US.
“We are excited to work with Cromsource and expand our coverage in Europe and the US to better meet our global clients' needs and accelerate product development and support lifecycle management. Strategically, the acquisition of Cromsource provides us with a highly experienced team of operational and technical experts in Europe and North America, adding to our existing capabilities in clinical development and staffing solution services,” said Ling Zhen, chairman and CEO of ClinChoice.
The move to acquire Cromsource emerged not long after ClinChoice successfully completed a Series E round financing. In July 2022, the company secured $150m (€141m) from lead investor, Legend Capital, and other investments firms. At the time, ClinChoice stated that it would use the financing to fund its “continued business expansion.”
Hongbin Zhou, co-chief investment officer of Legend Capital, explained the firm’s decision to invest by stating that it was ‘very positive’ on the growth outlook for the CRO industry, and had selected ClinChoice as it was a ‘rapidly growing’ CRO, with knowledge across certain key local markets.