LabCorp’s acquisition of Chiltern will create global-scale CRO with diverse customer base

Global Growth

LabCorp’s acquisition of Chiltern will create global-scale CRO with diverse customer base

LabCorp®, a leading global life sciences company based in Burlington, North Carolina, is acquiring Chiltern, a specialty CRO, creating a CRO with global scale and more than 20,000 employees. The all-cash transaction, estimated at $1.2 billion, is designed to boost LabCorp’s presence in drug development.

Chiltern is slated to become part of LabCorp’s Covance segment. LabCorp officials believe that the combined customer base will make recently-acquired Covance a key partner to the top 20 biopharma segment with an enhanced presence in the high-growth emerging and mid-market segments.

LabCorp, an S&P 500 company, is engaged in patient care, with comprehensive clinical laboratory and end-to-end drug development services. It offers diagnostic solutions, medicines and delivery of care. The company had net revenues of nearly $9.5 billion for 2016, with 52,000 employees in 60 countries.

Chiltern, a global CRO, provides “clinical services and solutions in a variety of therapeutic areas with engagement models for biopharmaceutical and medical device industries,” according to a press release. With 4,500 employees in 47 countries, Chiltern offers comprehensive clinical development, medical and scientific affairs, data and analysis, pharmacovigilance and strategic regulatory services using a collaborative approach for efficient clinical trials.

As David P. King, chairman and CEO of LabCorp, explained, “This acquisition strengthens our position as a leading life sciences company that delivers innovative diagnostics and drug development solutions to improve health and improve lives. Our acquisition of Covance has demonstrated the value of combining diagnostic and CRO capabilities, expertise, data and leadership. The addition of Chiltern furthers our strategy and will provide us with enhanced capabilities across a broader client base as we continue to innovate and grow.”

Jim Esinhart, Ph.D., CEO of Chiltern , added, “Joining LabCorp and Covance will allow Chiltern to expand its collaborative approach to bring better, more personalized therapies to market for patients every day. Customers will benefit from the expanded capabilities this provides, and our employees will have a greater opportunity to propel research into the future with strong, supportive partners.”

According to John Ratliff, CEO of Covance, “We now join with Chiltern to create a market-leading CRO, with more than 20,000 talented employees around the world. The addition enhances Covance’s offerings as a major partner serving the top 20 biopharma segment and expands our current offering to include a dedicated focus on the high-growth emerging and mid-market biopharma segments.”

Providing oncology expertise, the acquisition leverages Covance’s experience in late phase with Chiltern’s experience in early clinical development. Additionally, Chiltern has extensive capabilities in medical device development. Expanding the portfolio of flexible clinical development solutions tailored to customers’ needs, Chiltern enhances Covance’s clinical development capabilities with full programmatic and robust FSP offerings, including expanded clinical monitoring, biometrics and safety FSP solutions. Chiltern also offers an endpoint suite of interactive response technology that enhances Covance’s Xcellerate® clinical trial technology suite.

The combined company has about 11,100 employees in the Americas; 7,100 employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and 2,400 employees in Asia-Pacific. The combination provides a diverse customer base with strong growth potential across all client segments, according to LabCorp.