OCT Global SA, which operates under the brand name OCT Clinical, and Palleos Healthcare have merged under the Palleos brand name, the European contract research organizations announced in a May 27 release. Financial details were not disclosed.
“The merger will undoubtedly create significant synergies, not just doubling but squaring the expertise of both companies,” Philip Räth, Ph.D., managing director at Palleos, said in the release.
He added that the merger is also advantageous from a geographical perspective: Germany-based Palleos operates primarily in Western and Central Europe, while OCT’s territory covers eastern countries.
“Both together now cover the entire region with a product offering that ranges from pre-clinical consulting to regulatory affairs and clinical trials,” Räth said.
Prior to the merger, Palleos was focused mainly on product development in the oncology space. The company’s services included preclinical and clinical research strategy and trial management as well as post-market data collection. OCT was a full-service CRO that handled operations for trials in oncology, rheumatology, infectious disease and other conditions.
The deal was facilitated by life sciences incubator and major Palleos shareholder Swiss Xlife Sciences.