After taking over the Brussels-based CRO firm DICE, the Veeda Clinical Research has completed the take-over of a phase I clinical research unit in Gorlitz, Germany. The acquisition is the second for the company in the European region in the last four months. The company already has a presence in Plymouth, UK.

The takeover of German unit provides Veeda a broad base for early clinical development in Europe. The company is also planning an expansion in the facility where it is currently, in the process of setting up a large-molecule analytical laboratory in the Oxford Science Park, UK.

The newly acquired unit, based in the German town of Gorlitz on the German/Czech and Polish boarder is within easy reach of populations and hospital sites in the three countries. The Gorlitz unit was founded in 1992 as a 40-bed phase I facility equipped to conduct sophisticated pharmacokinetic studies in specific target normal populations and in patients. Integration with the UK-based Plymouth Unit is already underway and it is planned that the two units together would add value to Veeda's European operation through the new laboratory and statistics-data-management sites at Oxford and Brussels respectively.
The existing management team in Gorlitz will remain with the company and will continue to oversee operations and its association with key customers. Dr Peter Michaelis, Head of Gorlitz Unit said that the acquisition by Veeda provides exciting opportunities in terms of wider scope of capabilities on a global scale.

According to Dr Maurice Cross, co-founder and group medical director, Veeda, the addition of the Gorlitz unit offers a distinct presence in the area of early clinical development programmes including the access to key patient groups for 'first-in-man studies and proof-of concept studies.

The company is also likely to witness the merger of Veeda (Europe) and Veeda (Asia) through an acquisition by Veeda (USA) giving the company a presence in all major international markets, informed Binoy Gardi, managing director, Veeda's European Operations and co-founder of the Veeda Group. "For the long term, a global presence is crucial for business development," he added.

Veeda Clinical Research is a specialist CRO with top class clinical pharmacology units equipped with a total of 185 beds between both units in Plymouth, UK and Ahmedabad, India. The company also has a strategic alliance with Advinus Therapeutics, Bangalore where projects in the area of pre-clinical studies have started.