United BioSource Corporation (UBC) acquired Abt Bio-Pharma Solutions (ABS), the pharmaceutical and medical device research and consulting arm of Massachusetts-based Abt Associates, for an undisclosed sum.

ABS provides contract services in biometrics, clinical trials, health economics and outcomes research, registries and observational studies, and commercial strategy to the pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics industries. Founded as Abt Associates Clinical Trials division in 1997, ABS expanded its services from clinical trial management to include pricing and reimbursement and marketing consulting and research services as an Abt subsidiary in 2008. ABS does very little business in the area of clinical trial management now, said UBC CEO Ethan Leder.

“The business that we’re acquiring is virtually 100% focused in the areas that we care about, which I would characterize as scientific and medical affairs, meaning safety, value and effectiveness with more orientation around real-world data collection and that type of thing and very little if any emphasis on general clinical trial management in a phase II/III environment,” Leder told CWWeekly.

Neither Abt Associates nor UBC would discuss the financial terms of the deal, but Leder said ABS had revenues in excess of $5 million and about 50 researchers.

“This business is becoming much, much more global,” he said. “You have to be able to satisfy customers not just in distinct and small projects doing little things but you have to become a partner to them and be able to provide them with full end-to-end solutions. Those comprehensive solutions require more than probably ABS was able and willing to create on their own. They were looking for a home where they felt the work that their teams were doing would be not just appreciated but magnified.”

Many of the ABS team will become a part of UBC, Leder said, and ABS’ office in Lexington, Mass., will remain open for several months until it is consolidated into UBC’s own Boston office. UBC has 21 offices and 1,500 employees worldwide.