Pharmaron Acquires Majority Ownership in LinkStart
Expands Pharmaron’s integrated offerings to clinical development in China
Beijing, China, July 3rd, 2020 – Pharmaron, a fully integrated contract research and manufacturing organization offering end-to-end R&D services for the life science industry, announced today that it completed a follow-on investment to acquire the majority ownership in Beijing LinkStart SMO Ltd.(Linkstart), a third party clinical site management services organization (“SMO”) headquartered in Beijing, China. With the completion of this transaction, LinkStart becomes a subsidiary of Pharmaron.
This investment follows the path of Pharmaron’s previous strategic investment made in LinkStart in 2019, reflecting its continued confidence in LinkStart and strong commitment to clinical development service. This transaction will facilitate the implementation of Pharmaron’s clinical service strategy in China and in the world.
Mr. Larry Lou, President and COO of Pharmaron commented, “We are delighted to have LinkStart join the Pharmaron family. Through this investment, together with our clinical CRO subsidiary CR Medicon, we will be able to further strengthen our clinical service capability and capacity in China. It is one step closer to realize Pharmaron’s strategy to integrate its global clinical platforms in China, the US and the UK, all together, creating additional, synergistic value for domestic and international partners. It will help create an end-to-end service platform ranging from discovery through preclinical to clinical development and manufacturing.”
Mr. Yang Liu, founder, CEO of LinkStart, expressed his enthusiasm about this transaction, “We are excited to join the Pharmaron group, a highly experienced global player in the life science service industry. With the strong support from Pharmaron since the strategic investment last year, the SMO service capability and business in LinkStart has grown rapidly. By further deepening our relationship, we are in a better position to serve our partners and to build a premier SMO brand in the life science industry.”
About Pharmaron
Pharmaron (Stock Code: 300759.SZ/3759.HK) is a leading fully-integrated pharmaceutical R&D service platform supporting the life science industry. Founded in 2004, Pharmaron has invested in its people and facilities and established its comprehensive service offerings throughout the pharmaceutical R&D lifecycle. With operations in China, US and UK staffed by over 8,000 employees, Pharmaron has excellent track record in delivering R&D solutions to its partners in North America, Europe, Japan and China. For more information: www.www.pharmaron.com
About LinkStart
LinkStart is a leading clinical SMO in China. Founded in 2012, headquartered in Beijing. LinkStart collaborates with over 600 hospitals in more than 110 cities in China, and is a preferred SMO service provider for 100+ clinical research centers. LinkStart has conducted 900+ studies, of which 85% are the 1st class of new drugs and biological products, encompassing a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas. For more information: www.linkstart.com.cn