LONDON: Ergomed plc has acquired Ashfield Pharmacovigilance Inc. from UDG Healthcare US Holdings for a total cash consideration of $10 million.

Ashfield PV is a long-established and respected provider in the pharmacovigilance services sector. It was founded as Drug Safety Alliance (DSA) in 2000 and was acquired by UDG in 2012.

The Acquisition aligns with Ergomed’s strategy to grow its existing profitable services business both organically and through acquisition and advances a number of important strategic objectives for Ergomed.

Dr Miroslav Reljanović, Executive Chairman of Ergomed, said: “The acquisition of Ashfield PV is a major step forward for Ergomed in the strategically important US market. It provides a significant US pharmacovigilance presence and access to a genuinely global offering for customers. It also strengthens the US platform for the Ergomed CRO business as we continue our drive towards becoming a leading mid-tier pharmaceutical services specialist with a global presence. We are enthusiastic about bringing together the specialist skills and expertise of both businesses and providing the full benefit of the combination to our clients. We look forward to welcoming the Ashfield PV team into Ergomed’s PrimeVigilance division and to working with them to grow the combined business.”

Lee Chaiken, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Ashfield PV, said: “We are delighted to join the PrimeVigilance business and to have the opportunity to work with the whole Ergomed group. With our existing strong service and loyal clients in North America, we are confident that combining with PrimeVigilance will provide a platform to grow the combined pharmacovigilance business through additional services, market-leading systems and extended coverage globally.”

The Acquisition will be funded using the Company’s existing cash resources, without significant detriment to the Company’s ability to fund future potential acquisition opportunities. The Company is expected to continue to generate strong positive cash flow from its contracted order book, which at its interim results in September were reported to be 26.9% up on the prior year, as well as from significant recent new business wins.

In its financial year ended 30 September 2019, Ashfield PV reported revenue of $11.6 million and adjusted EBITDA of $0.9 million and had net assets of $2.8 million. The order book of contracted future revenues (backlog) was $9.8 million.

Edited by Nayyar Iqbal