J. Knipper and Company, a provider of healthcare marketing solutions, has acquired the inVentiv Health MySTRO Sample Management and Fulfillment business, including regulatory compliance, sample accountability and fulfillment services.

With the acquisition, J. Knipper becomes the largest end-to-end pharmaceutical samples management service provider in the U.S., dedicated to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry with services spanning all phases of the product lifecycle. These services include marketing, printing, sample and literature distribution, eSampling and direct HCP fulfillment, regulatory compliance, information technology, salesforce productivity and provider data management.

J. Knipper and inVentiv Health will work collaboratively to offer their respective core services and an integrated account management approach to shared customers. The collaboration will allow for J. Knipper to offer sample management and fulfillment services in support of InVentiv Health selling solutions representatives while InVentiv Health will offer tele-detailing services to Knipper multi-channel programs. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"J. Knipper and Company's greater scale in the areas of sample accountability and fulfillment will enhance the services provided to inVentiv Health customers,” said Paul Mignon, president of inVentiv Health Selling Solutions. “And similarly, inVentiv Health's best-in-class tele-detailing capabilities—including our state-of-the-art call center, which is staffed by professional, fully trained and dedicated agents—will provide support and value to J. Knipper and Company's clients. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the J. Knipper and Company team on delivering customer-focused solutions with real results."

Michael J. Laferrera, president and chief operating officer of J. Knipper, said, "In recognition of the growing need within the pharmaceutical industry to optimize strategies for sample management, I am confident that this acquisition will allow us to enhance our strategic as well as grass roots services by offering an even greater wealth of employee expertise and executional best practices."

Edgemont Capital Partners, a healthcare investment banking firm, acted as exclusive advisor to J. Knipper.