The Hindu Business Line : Veeda Oncology close to buying US clinical research unit

Mumbai, May 13 With four overseas acquisitions in three years, Ahmedabad-headquartered Veeda Clinical Research is now close to acquiring an oncology-focused clinical research organisation (CRO) in the US, through its subsidiary Veeda Oncology.

The CRO in US has been identified and the deal is likely to be sealed in the next two to four weeks, Mr Binoy Gardi, Founder and Group Managing Director of Veeda CR, told Business Line. This would be the fifth overseas acquisition between Veeda CR and its oncology subsidiary, after having undertaken similar acquisitions in the United Kingdom (2005), Belgium (2006), Germany (2007) and France, earlier this year.

The acquisition is to fortify Veeda Oncology’s ability to offer clinical research services, specifically in oncology, from Phase I through to Phase IV, he said. Phase I study involves the first human exposure of a drug that has just been developed. Subsequent levels of clinical studies involve testing the medicine on different sample sizes of human volunteers and patients for parameters including safety and efficacy. Surveillance on the drug for adverse reactions (Phase IV) continues after the drug gets regulatory approval and is launched into the market.

Cancer focus

Explaining the rationale of focusing on cancer-related drugs, he said, “Oncology is among the fastest growing areas and 60 to 70 per cent of the trials in India are in Oncology.” The parent company, Veeda CR, however, offers only Phase I services in all segments, except oncology, he said.

The aggressive growth strategy, involving global acquisitions, helps Veeda in terms of proximity to its clients, he explained. Across both the companies, Veeda has 450 people globally, and the integration of people across different operations is an ongoing process, he added.

Three-year old Veeda CR was started by Mr Gardi and Mr Apurva Shah to tap into the opportunity that opened up after India brought in a regime to protect product patents in 2005. Veeda Oncology was started earlier this year.

Listing the company is not on the promoters’ radar, at least not for a couple of years, Mr Gardi said. Resources for the acquisitions were raised personally and through private equity, he said, without divulging details.

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