PAREXEL Acquires Turkish CRO, ATLAS Medical Services
By Cyndi Root
PAREXEL International Corporation announced in a press release that it has acquired ATLAS Medical Services, a contract research organization (CRO). The clinical research provider from Istanbul, Turkey also works in the Middle East and North Africa. PAREXEL purchased the privately owned company in a cash transaction, and intends to integrate it into its own clinical research division.
Josef von Rickenbach, Chairman and CEO of PAREXEL said, “The acquisition of ATLAS strengthens PAREXEL’s presence in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa. These markets are of increasing importance to our clients who are looking for market access and a broad spectrum of patient populations for clinical trials.”
ATLAS Acquisition
ATLAS and PAREXEL have been collaborating for many years. Therefore, ATLAS personnel are familiar with PARAXEL processes and operations, making the acquisition easier for the two companies to accomplish. Not only will ATLAS bring its presence in the Middle East to the table, but it will also offer its expertise in all the phases of drug development as well as expertise in oncology, hematology, and infectious disease, among other therapeutic areas. PARAXEL can take advantage of ATLAS’ site selection capabilities and regulatory filings. In 2013, ATLAS earned $4 million in revenue but the two companies did not disclose the purchase price.
About ATLAS
Atlas is a CRO with a client list of 28 companies including leading biopharmaceutical companies. Founded in 2005, the company is headquartered in Istanbul and has offices in Ankara and Izmir. The company has three operating divisions: ATLAS Medical, ATLAS Public Health, and ATLAS Consulting. It focuses on scalable software solutions and healthcare applications for its roster of 150 private and public health care entities.
Recently, the company announced that the Drummond Group's Electronic Health Records Office of the National Coordinator Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ACB) has certified its LabWorks 15.2 program, signifying that the electronic health record (EHR) meets its meaningful use criteria.
The company’s CEO, Rob Atlas has also been actively discussing several ways companies should be working to adjust to the new clinical trial and healthcare landscape. In April 2014, CEO Rob Atlas explained the steps that diagnostic testing laboratories should take to apply business principles to the emerging patient-centric model of clinical trials and healthcare. In September 2013, he offered his perspectives on the market conditions and drivers that impact clinical trials. Additionally, Mr. Atlas provided an overview of the patient-centric model and the efforts that multiple entities are expending to create a complete digital patient record.