US-based Symbio Research and German CRO Proinnovera have merged to form Symbio Proinnovera, a dermatology-focused clinical research organization.
The plan is to combine Symbio’s clinical research organization (CRO) experience – along with that of its formulation services unit Dow Development Laboratories - with Proinnovera’s understanding of European clinical trial contracting space.
According to a press statement the newly formed organization will use the combined power of two highly experienced teams with deep expertise in the dermatology space to generate efficiencies and accelerate clinical research.
Symbio president Rich Panico - who was named as CEO of Symbio Proinnovera – said the merger had been a long time coming.
“We’ve rejected partnership offers in the past from private equity firms, but we accepted this time because it was different.
“This combination purchase and merger is a blueprint for accelerated development that’s more promising than any we’ve seen.”
He added “I have always thought of Symbio and Proinnovera as not only mirror businesses on different continents but also as companies sharing common values. In fact, we wanted this partnership to happen 5 years ago. It took longer than expected but I am so thrilled it has finally happened.”
This was echoed by Proinnovera founder and CEO Burkhard Breuer who added, “We are delighted to merge with the Symbio Group.
“Our entities are highly complementary in terms of services, customers, and geographical footprint; we are fully aligned and share the same ultimate objective to elevate clinical trials to the next level.”
Financial backing for Symbio Proinnovera will be provided Archimed, a healthcare-focused investment firm that operates in France, the US and Singapore.
According to Archimed the average annual revenue growth over the last three years at Symbio and Proinnovera was respectively 22 percent and 11 percent.
It predicted that the combined group’s sales are projected to have high double-digit growth this year.
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