Pharmaceutical Business review

NSF International purchases majority stake in Amarex CRO

Image: NSF International has acquired majority stake in Amarex CRO. Photo: courtesy of rawpixel from Pixabay.

The acquisition of Amarex will help NSF to expand its consulting services to the medical device and pharma/biotech industries.

Amarex will be included in NSF’s global health science consulting business, and will be called as Amarex Clinical Research, LLC, an NSF International company.

NSF International president and CEO Kevan Lawlor said: “NSF International plays an important role in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry as a champion of quality, scientific rigor and best practices aimed at protecting and improving human health.”

Established in 1998, Amarex supports biotech, medical device and pharmaceutical firms to carry out clinical trials scientifically, as well as access complex regulatory environments in a range of therapeutic indications such as oncology, central nervous system, wound healing, infectious disease, cardiovascular and urology.

Amarex will offer regulatory affairs, project/trial management, clinical operations, biostatistics, data management, pharmacovigilance, data monitoring committees, medical writing and consulting services to the companies.

Under the deal, Amarex founder Kazem Kazempour will continue as the president and CEO for Amarex under NSF International.

Dr Kazempour said: “Amarex will be able to leverage NSF International’s global infrastructure to expand our contract research capabilities and better serve clients with the design and execution of clinical trials and navigating the FDA, TFDA and EMA regulatory approval process.

“NSF International’s operational excellence will accelerate our expert team’s leap forward in the CRO market, and better help pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device/diagnostic companies develop products and services that will protect and improve human health while minimizing inefficiencies to save time and reduce unnecessary costs.”

NSF offers health sciences services such as training and education, consulting, regulatory guidance and corporate compliance, as well as auditing, DNA testing, certification and R&D for the pharma biotech, medical device and dietary supplement industries.

Separately, Lantheus Holdings has signed an agreement to acquire oncology company Progenics Pharmaceuticals, which is involved in the development and commercialisation of targeted medicines and artificial intelligence for cancer.