P95 to merge with South African vaccine CRO OnQ Research
Ampersand Capital-backed pharmacovigilance contractor P95 BV will merge with vaccine trials firm OnQ Research in the latest stage of its transformation into a vaccine focused CRO.
Leuven, Belgium-based P95 announced the merger plan last week, explaining that Johannesburg, South Africa headquartered OnQ will expand both its capabilities in vaccine studies and geographic reach.
CEO Thomas Verstraeten, said, "This is an exciting transaction for our respective teams and clients, and an important step towards our goal of being the preferred service provider to all vaccine stakeholders.
"The enhanced geographic footprint of the combined company will accelerate recruitment timelines, while providing our sponsor partners access to a global, diverse patient base. Further, the expansion into Africa for P95's ongoing real world evidence projects provides a pathway to generate unique insights for both R&D prioritization and the monitoring of public health decision effectiveness."
The merger – which is scheduled to be completed before the end of the year – will give the combined P95-OnQ will have a physical presence in over 30 countries with offices in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
OnQ CEO and founder, Catherine Lund, predicted the combined firm would become a focus for sponsors seeking to test vaccines and anti-infectives.
“Africa has enormous potential to contribute to global infectious disease research, and we believe merging with P95 will help accelerate the continent's impact on the field. Together we will implement state-of-the-art clinical trial infrastructure and help establish the combined P95-OnQ as the unrivalled African champion in infectious disease clinical research services.”
The deal is in keeping with the plan that private equity investor Ampersand Capital Partners outlined in May when it invested in P95.
Speaking at the time Eric Lev, general partner at Ampersand said “We believe P95 is poised for continued growth due to its unique service offering, global footprint, and broad customer base spanning the entire vaccine ecosystem.”
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