Atlantic Research Group (ARG) has become the first U.S.-based contract research organization (CRO) to join up with Pharmaceutical Services Network (PSN), a tightly knit, Netherlands-headquartered group of small to medium-sized CROs in Europe. The thrust of the network? To provide small CRO service (read: high quality and much personal attention) to small and medium-sized pharmaceutical and biotechnology…more...

Quanticate is the most established biometrics-oriented contract research organization (CRO) you’ve never heard of. Quanticate is the new name for the marriage of two U.K.-based, heavyweight biostat-centric CROs that merged last year, Statwood and Oxford Pharmaceutical Sciences. Things have really been moving fast for the new entity. The company announced its first official U.S. presence in July…more...

PPD (Nasdaq: PPDI) is already a pretty big player in Eastern and Central Europe, but its footprint there is about to get bigger. Last week, the Wilmington, N.C.-based contract research organization (CRO) announced plans to acquire AbCRO, a Bulgarian CRO founded eight years ago by two Americans. The price: $30 million. The deal, if finalized, gives PPD…more...

Say you need someone to do something for you in Singapore. It turns out it’s rude to leave someone a few voice mail messages. Even several email requests are a bit of a no-no. Instead, communication via so-called “text” or short messaging systems (SMS) is the norm and the Emily-Post approved technique. That works for Pfizer. The…more...