Accelrys has bought VelQuest for $35 million in an all-cash transaction. VelQuest provides paperless lab execution systems for cGMP of FDA-regulated industries including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
Accelrys’ acquisition of VelQuest extends its software portfolio into the downstream pharmaceutical development QA/QC space. The company expects to offer significant productivity improvements, faster cycle times, lower operational costs, and reduced compliance risks. Accelrys says the acquisition will be slightly dilutive to full year 2012 non-GAAP net income per share.
“With the acquisition of VelQuest, Accelrys continues to execute on its strategy of providing a broad, flexible solution set for customers that depend on scientific innovation to bring new products from lab to market more quickly and efficiently,” remarks Accelrys president and CEO Max Carnecchia. “VelQuest’s strong products and proven domain expertise in compliance-intensive laboratory operations expand our ability to meet our life science customers’ critical needs in late-stage development, quality control, and production.”
VelQuest portfolio of procedure execution management products includes SmartLab™, SmartBatch™, and gmpLIMS™. They have been designed for analysts, reviewers, and supervisors to manage the entire process of executing laboratory test procedures in a paperless environment while maintaining cGMP compliance requirements.
In addition to complementing Accelrys Pipeline Pilot and Symyx Notebook, the VelQuest systems significantly reduce resources needed for paperless analytical and quality operations, including analyst data acquisition and documentation, data review, supervisor approval, QA investigations, audits, and releases, according to Accelrys.