Dublin, Ireland-based clinical trials group ICON is set to acquire rival contract research organisation (CRO) PRA Health Sciences in a deal worth around $12 billion.
The move will see the two global organisations join together to create a major clinical trial provider to pharma companies.

In a statement, ICON said the merger will see biopharma and medical device customers benefit from a broader service offering and geographic footprint, as well as deeper therapeutic expertise, expansive healthcare technology innovation and functional talent and capabilities.

The combined company will offer both PRA’s mobile and connected health platforms, real-world data and information solution and ICON’s Accellacare site network, home health services and wearable expertise.

It will be headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with ICON’s current chief executive officer Steve Cutler to serve as chief executive of the merged company.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has maintained a decision made last year by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to fine Lexon £1.2 million after deeming it guilty of breaking competition law.

The CMA found last year that Lexon, along with King Pharmaceuticals and Alissa Healthcare Research, had illegally shared commercially sensitive information in an attempt to drive up prices of the antidepressant nortriptyline.

The CMA concluded that from 2015 to 2017 – when the cost of the drug was decreasing – the three companies exchanged information about prices, the volumes they were supplying and Alissa’s plans to enter the market.

The CMA then fined all three companies, fining Lexon a total of £1.2 million – however, Lexon maintained it had not broken the law and appealed the decision and fine.

As the CAT has now decided to uphold the original finding that Lexon broke competition law, the CMA can continue its director disqualification application against Pritesh Sonpal, a Lexon director, who was directly involved in the information exchange

Medical research charity LifeArc and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have announced three investments totalling £18m for the creation of a UK network of gene therapy hubs.

The funding, announced with support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), will be used to help create three dedicated facilities to advance the clinical development of new gene therapy treatments.

The three hubs will be located at King’s College London, NHS Blood and Transplant in Bristol and the University of Sheffield.

The ‘Innovation Hubs’ will allow academic-led clinical trials of novel gene therapies to be conducted; academics have previously found it difficult to get access to the clinical materials, facilities and expertise needed to advance gene therapy research into the clinic, according to LifeArc.

The hubs will offer access to GMP facilities for clinical trial materials, as well as translational support and regulatory advice.

They will also operate as a ‘coordinated network’ by sharing technical skills and resources to enable gene therapy research.