CRO Quintiles has signed an agreement to acquire Novella Clinical, a full-service CRO focused primarily on emerging oncology customers as well as those in the medical device and diagnostics sectors. 

“The expertise and insight the Novella team brings will be a strong addition to our existing capabilities and help further differentiate Quintiles in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” said Paula Brown Stafford, president, clinical development at Quintiles. “Novella’s understanding of emerging companies, as well as our shared commitment to quality, customer service and, above all, the patients we ultimately serve makes this acquisition a good fit for both organizations.”

Quintiles said the acquisition will bolster its small biopharma, oncology and medical device capabilities.

Novella’s infrastructure and approach to clinical research were created with the operational needs of its unique customer base in mind, and constructed to best support these specific customer groups. By joining Quintiles, Novella will be able to continue this specialized focus while at the same time leveraging Quintiles’ scale and resources to provide new global capabilities to its existing and future customers.

“Since our founding 15 years ago, Novella has been committed to serving emerging companies by offering personal attention and flexibility in addition to our extensive therapeutic experience,” said Richard Staub, president and CEO of Novella. “By joining Quintiles, we will be able to extend the geographic reach of our services exponentially while remaining committed to the values and business approach that makes us a great partner to our customers.”

Both Quintiles and Novella are headquartered in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Novella has more than 800 professionals located throughout North America and Europe.  Upon completion of the acquisition, Novella will operate as a unit within Quintiles and be known as “Novella Clinical, a Quintiles company.”  The transaction, subject to standard and customary closing conditions, is expected to close later this quarter.

Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.  The acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on Quintiles’ 2013 earnings per share.

Quintiles has a network of more than 27,000 employees conducting business in approximately 100 countries, and says it has helped develop or commercialize all of the top-50 best-selling drugs on the market.