Burlington, Mass.-based inVentiv Health, which offering clinical, commercial and consulting services to the healthcare industry, has completed the acquisition of CRO PharmaNet Development Group. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

According to inVentiv, the acquisition makes it one of the top CROs worldwide, with clinical segment annual revenue of $900 million and more than 6,000 employees dedicated to clinical research in nearly 40 countries, including growth markets in Asia, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe.

Overall, inVentiv Health said it will have annual revenues of nearly $2 billion, and more than 13,000 employees worldwide, across its three business segments: clinical, commercial and consulting.

"Growth in the CRO marketplace is fueled by pharmaceutical and biotech clients who are looking to gain flexibility and efficiency through outsourcing," said Paul Meister, CEO of inVentiv Health. "inVentiv is well positioned to serve the diverse needs of the marketplace—from smaller biotechs to the largest global enterprises, at any stage of clinical development, anywhere in the world."  

inVentiv's clinical segment supports bioanalysis, phase I (first-in-human) studies and phase II-IV (post-launch) clinical trials. It offers services across therapeutic areas including oncology, neuroscience/pain, rheumatology, infectious disease, cardiovascular, endocrinology and metabolic disease. inVentiv can manage a completely outsourced clinical trial or provide functional support to in-house trials in clinical trial management and monitoring, data management, biostatistics solutions, regulatory consulting, safety and pharmacovigilance and patient and investigator recruitment.

Jeffrey P. McMullen, CEO of PharmaNet, who will lead inVentiv's clinical segment, said, "PharmaNet employees are excited to join forces with inVentiv. As we think about our expanded capabilities, one thing won't change: our focus on servicing customers."

PharmaNet is inVentiv's third acquisition in 2011. In February, it added Campbell Alliance to its consulting segment, and in June, it acquired CRO i3.  inVentiv is organized in three segments aligned with how customers purchase clinical, commercial, and consulting services.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi and Jefferies Finance provided financing commitments to inVentiv Health to support the transaction. In connection with the transaction, Ropes & Gray acted as legal advisor to inVentiv Health; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom acted as legal advisor to PharmaNet; Jefferies & Company and UBS Securities acted as financial advisors to PharmaNet; and Jefferies & Company acted as financial advisors to JLL Partners.