ICON said today it will acquire Aptiv Solutions for $143.5 million, in a deal that adds the acquired CRO’s expertise in adaptive clinical trials to the buyer’s array of outsourced development services for biopharma and medical device companies. 

ICON will acquire Aptiv Solutions from its owners, The Halifax Group, SV Life Sciences, Comvest Partners and Management, in a transaction subject to unspecified closing conditions. In addition to designing and carrying out adaptive clinical trials for biopharma and medical device sponsors, Aptiv Solutions sells statistical software intended for use in those trials.

Aptiv Solutions expanded its adaptive clinical-trial services into cancer therapeutics and other trials with long-duration endpoints on March 18, when it released the latest version of its ADDPLAN® statistical software. The company says ADDPLAN 6.1 is the first statistical software enabling the use of surrogate endpoints to speed up interim analysis decisions in adaptive clinical trials. ADDPLAN counts among its customers more than 50 pharma and medical device makers, as well as key regulatory agencies that include the FDA, the European Medicines Agency, and Japan’s Pharmaceuticals Medical Devices Agency.

Japan is where ICON will combine its operations in Tokyo and Osaka with one of Aptiv Solutions’ companies—Niphix, a full-service, oncology-focused CRO serving both Japanese and international customers.

“Aptiv Solutions’ adaptive trial capabilities will further differentiate and enhance our services to help our customers identify the most promising drug candidates earlier. Their presence in Japan will also broaden our existing capabilities in this market,” Nuala Murphy, Ph.D., president of ICON Clinical Research Services, said in a statement.

ICON’s programs to support clinical development range from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. Dublin-based ICON has about 10,300 employees operating from 77 locations in 38 countries.

Headquartered in Reston, VA, Aptiv Solutions has more than 850 professionals in 16 countries stretching across North America, Eastern and Western Europe, Israel, and Japan.

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