Part of MDS’ early-stage contract research organization (CRO), which was sold off in two parts earlier this month, is re-emerging as Celerion, a CRO owned by a group of private investors.

MDS completed the sale of its CRO division March 8 with part of the unit going to Ricerca Biosciences, an early-stage CRO in Concord, Ohio, and the other part going to a new corporation—announced today as Celerion—primarily owned by private investment firms Bain Capital Ventures and SV Life Sciences.

Celerion took over MDS’ development and regulatory services consultancy, as well as five early-stage facilities in Ireland, Nebraska, New Jersey, Arizona and Switzerland; and operations in Virginia and Canada.  Ricerca purchased MDS Pharma’s discovery through phase IIa operations in Bothell, Washington; Lyon, France; and Taipei, Taiwan.

Although Celerion’s formal ties to MDS Pharma have been severed, the company said it remains committed to providing the same service for which MDS Pharma was known. Susan Thornton, Ph.D., formerly president of MDS Pharma’s late-stage clinical and central laboratory services business, will be the new CEO of Celerion.

“I'm energized by the prospect of taking this great business to the next level of market leadership,” she said in a statement. “Its combination of experienced people, scientific excellence, and state-of-the-art facilities constitutes a strong foundation for future growth. We look forward to continuing to provide our pharmaceutical, biotechnology and generic clients with leading early stage clinical research services. Like the company I am leading, my roots are in MDS Pharma Services.”

Celerion—a name derived from the Latin “celeratis,” meaning swiftness and speed—will focus on helping clients make informed go/no-go decisions on compounds in development as early as possible, according to a company release.