Belgium-based P95, a CRO focused on vaccines, has acquired South Africa’s OnQ Research in a move to expand its global presence in the infectious disease arena.
Although financial details weren’t disclosed, P95 said the deal should be completed by the end of the year, pending regulatory approvals. P95, which is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, said in an Oct. 16 release that the combined companies will continue to offer services in disease areas such as oncology, medical devices and cardiology.
Both companies have conducted vaccine research for bacterial and viral diseases including influenza, COVID-19, group B strep, respiratory syncytial virus, hepatitis variants and E. coli.
“The enhanced geographic footprint of the combined company will accelerate recruitment timelines, while providing our sponsor partners access to a global, diverse patient base,” P95 CEO Thomas Verstraeten said in the release.
“Further, the expansion into Africa for P95’s ongoing real world evidence projects provides a pathway to generate unique insights for both R&D prioritization and the monitoring of public health decision effectiveness.”
When the deal is completed, P95, which is a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners, will have operations in more than 30 countries including offices in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
“Africa has enormous potential to contribute to global infectious disease research, and we believe merging with P95 will help accelerate the continent’s impact on the field,” OnQ’s CEO Catherine Lund said.
Lund founded the company in 1999. Since then, it has conducted more than 500 trials in 14 African countries.