EdgeCap buys majority stake in Sofia CRO Comac
EdgeCap has acquired a controlling share in Bulgaria’s Comac Medical and hinted at plans to expand the CRO.
The deal – financial terms of which were not disclosed – will see the London-based private equity firm take a majority stake, while the clinical research organization’s (CRO’s) management – led by founder and CEO, Milen Vrabevski, retain a minority interest.
EdgeCap co-founder Christopher Backes – cited Comac’s breadth of experience and approach to patient recruitment as primary motivations for the investment.
“We are excited to invest in Comac Medical, which over the past 25 years has grown under Milen’s leadership into an outstanding business that customers overwhelmingly praise for its quality of service, deep medical expertise in early phase clinical development as well as its speed and agility, specifically with regards to patient recruitment across therapeutic areas and rare indications.
He added, “We think Comac is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the CRO market’s favorable growth prospects and untapped potential.”
Comac is based in Sofia, Bulgaria but has a presence in more than 30 countries. The CRO provides a range of early to late-phase drug development services to the global pharmaceutical and biotech companies across a variety of therapeutic areas.
Many of the CRO’s operations are based at its Phase I unit in Sofia, which is a 42-bed facility with an on-site pharmacy as well as clinical and bioanalytical labs that has played a role in more than 260 completed clinical trials.
At present, Comac has a team of more than 350 people. However, this number is likely to expand as a result of EdgeCap’s investment according to Vrabevski.
“To continue our strong growth trajectory in the years to come and to meet our customers’ needs, we are looking to significantly expand operations while preserving our unique culture that has served as the foundation of our success.
“EdgeCap supports this vision and is committed to investing significant resources to capitalize on an exciting opportunity ahead,” he added.
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