Quintiles and Quest Diagnostics have announced a definitive agreement to form a global clinical trials laboratory services business. By combining the clinical trials laboratory operations of two industry leaders, the new entity will provide customers with the depth of capabilities and end-to-end clinical trial laboratory services required to succeed in the increasingly complex biopharmaceutical industry. The new entity will offer a compelling value proposition to solidify its position as the second-largest central laboratory services company in the world.

The joint venture would have generated approximately $575 million in revenues in 2014, and will offer a superior breadth of services and an industry-leading test menu to its customers across biopharmaceutical industry, covering  top-20 largest companies.  Upon closing of the transaction, Quintiles will own 60% and Quest Diagnostics will own 40% of the new joint venture.

Quintiles’ scale, clinical trial expertise, and diverse therapeutic experience coupled with Quest Diagnostics’ operational, scientific and quality excellence, supply chain network and informatics promise greater innovation, quality and value for biopharmaceutical customers.  In addition, customers will benefit from a globally scaled and agile business model that is singularly focused on delivering top-quality laboratory services informed by deep medical and clinical knowledge.

Clinical, scientific and statistical excellence is becoming increasingly important for successful laboratory work as part of the regulatory approval process.  To meet these needs, the entity will draw upon the deep scientific, medical and data expertise of Quintiles and Quest Diagnostics, which together have a team of approximately 3,500 medical doctors, Ph.D.s and biostatisticians as well as cutting-edge experience, expertise and capabilities in the areas of genomics and precision medicine.

The new entity also will leverage a number of additional resources from the broader Quintiles and Quest Diagnostics organizations, including the award-winning Quintiles Infosario technology platform and Quest Diagnostics’ robust data analytics capabilities. Both companies are bioinformatics leaders in their respective fields – positions that have been built upon and honed from diverse experience and data access.  Quest Diagnostics draws from 20 billion test results, and Quintiles’ assets include electronic health records representing more than 60 million patient lives and a network of 250,000 clinical investigators.

“This joint venture builds upon the best of Quintiles’ and Quest Diagnostics’ strengths, creating top-quality services for customers,” said Tom Pike, CEO, Quintiles.

It also will help enhance quality and efficiency by leveraging Quest Diagnostics’ supply chain that serves approximately half of the physicians and hospitals in the US and includes 2,200 service centers, 3,000 couriers and connectivity solutions used by 250,000 healthcare providers, he added.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the world’s leading biopharmaceutical services provider to help customers succeed with their clinical trials and support the pursuit of precision medicine,” said Steve Rusckowski, CEO, Quest Diagnostics. “

Beyond the immediate opportunity in laboratory services support for clinical trials, Quintiles and Quest Diagnostics expect to benefit from opportunities to collaborate in other areas.  These include new ways to enhance patient recruiting and retention for clinical trials; speed the validation, development and commercialization of companion diagnostics; enhance support of real-world late phase studies; and develop new population-health analytics and tools.

The transaction, which is subject to standard and customary closing conditions, is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2015. Additional details and financial terms of this transaction are not being disclosed at this time said the company release.