ICON spends $31.6m on US trials firm
ICON, a Dublin-headquartered provider of drug development solutions, has acquired US clinical trial company Symphony Clinical Research in a deal worth $31.6m (€28.5m).
Nasdaq-listed ICON, which was founded in Ireland, confirmed the acquisition in its third-quarter results for 2019.
Symphony Clinical Research, which is headquartered in Illinois, US, provides at-home patient and site support services for people taking part in clinical trials.
An ICON spokesperson said the acquisition would help the business to offer patients at-home trial services and make it “easier for people to take part in clinical trials”.
“This reduces patient burden, which benefits the patient, the physician, our customers, and ultimately improves the development of important new treatments.”
During the company’s earnings call, ICON CEO Steve Cutler, pictured, said the acquisition was “very important” from a strategic point of view.
Cutler said that it would contribute a “couple of million dollars” of revenue on a quarterly basis. ICON, which currently employs 13,620 people in 97 locations across 37 countries, added that the acquisition would place staff in the US and continental Europe.
Following the acquisition, and on the back of a strong quarter, the company is increasing its 2019 revenue guidance from a range of $2.76bn to $2.84bn, to a range of $2.79bn to $2.83bn. ICON also raised its earnings guidance from a range of $6.75-$6.95 to $6.81-$6.95.
The Irish company reported record business wins over the third quarter, hitting $931m, bringing the total value of business wins to $3.2bn this year.
It reported $710.4m in revenue over the third quarter, representing an 8.5pc increase on last year. For the year, the company had revenue of $2.08bn, which was also up by 8.5pc.
ICON was co-founded by Ronan Lambe and John Climax in 1990. The two made a fortune selling shares in the business, with the now-retired Lambe making €85m and Singapore-born Climax making
€70m when he stood down as CEO in 2009. At the time of writing, the company was valued at $8.07bn.