Synchron Research eyes buyout in France

Looks at company specialising in Phase 1 trails.

Fresh from its acquisition of Parexel's bio-analytical and bio-marker facility in France for about $6.7 million (Rs 270 crore), Ahmedabad-based clinical research organisation (CRO) Synchron Research is looking at one more acquisition in France. The company has started scouting for mid-size or large companies.

"We are looking for a company specialising in Phase 1 trials in France. We hope to close the acquisition in a year," said Shivprakash, managing director, Synchron Research.

Company officials said discussions were still under way and that the price was yet to be negotiated but it has been learnt that it could be worth around $ 4 million (Rs 160 crore). The funding for the acquisition will come from banks and internal accruals. It has also kept the private equity option open.

The move to acquire a company abroad has come about since India is yet to allow phase 1 trials within the country. Phase 1 clinical trials involve testing of new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range and identify side effects.

With this acquisition, the company is planning to strengthen its presence into the Phase 1 clinical trials market in Europe.

The CRO market in India, according to Shivprakash, is growing by 16 to 20 per cent every year. With the recent acquisition of Parexel's bio-analytical and bio-marker facility in France, the company is looking at providing high-end services to clients from across the globe. US-based CRO Paraxel has hiked its stake in Synchron from 19.5 per cent to 31 per cent.

The company will also soon set up a greenfield project in Vietnam to cater to the Asia-Pacific region. With the acquisition of Parexel's facility, Synchron will have more than 350 ready-to-run methods in various animal and human biological matrices.

The lab, to be named Synexel Research international SAS, has developed over 100 proprietary bioanalytical methods for new chemical entities for top pharmaceutical companies.