Rockville contract research organization Emmes is following through on plans to expand its footprint, headcount and customer base — now, with its second acquisition.
The company has scooped up Orphan Reach, a United Kingdom-based clinical research firm which, like Emmes, runs clinical trials for other organizations. And with Orphan’s focus on the rare disease space, the deal positions the local life sciences firm to deepen its work in areas with high unmet medical needs and expand more aggressively within that market.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Orphan — which has offices in the Delaware as well as Ireland, Germany, India and Canada — brings experience running 60 clinical trials in rare diseases for more than 50 biopharmaceutical clients across 70 countries. The company, founded in 2002, aims to speed up access to new treatments. And per its name, it specializes in work around orphan therapeutics, or those for rare conditions lacking existing treatment options.
With Orphan's brand recognition and experience built over two decades, “its ability to locate patients throughout the world for clinical trials in rare and orphan diseases will be a big asset for us,” said Dr. Christine Dingivan, president and CEO of Emmes, in a statement to the Washington Business Journal. And, she said, the company’s international footprint will help create opportunities for Emmes to run global trials.
The acquisition expands Emmes's footprint and biopharma client base — important, as biopharma represents a new, distinct division of the business. The organization has tapped Rhonda Henry as president of Emmes Biopharma to focus on those customers. She joins after three decades in clinical research and, most recently, serving as vice president of patient solutions at North Carolina research company PPD Inc., where Dingivan has also worked.
Henry’s appointment followed the promotion of Dr. Paul VanVeldhuisen, a longtime Emmes employee, to lead its other entity, Emmes Public Sector, which focuses on the firm’s work with government clients. Both join the contract research organization within eight months of Dingivan’s arrival to the top slot.
The acquisition of Orphan delivers a big opportunity for Emmes, as more than 7,000 rare diseases plague patients around the world, many without treatments, Dingivan said. To that end, Emmes will now look to broaden Orphan’s research in the U.S. It will also work with European firm Neox, Dingivan said, following its acquisition of that company in December.
Going forward, Orphan Reach founder and CEO Thomas Ogorka, as well as the U.K. company’s four other leadership team members, will stay on board in their current roles, according to Emmes. The company’s 60-full time employees will also all remain, Dingivan said.
Emmes is on track to add another 200 people this year — already with 85 new employees year to date, Dingivan said. The company now has 70 job openings worldwide, from business development directors in San Francisco and the Midwest, to a chief officer of medicine in the Czech Republic, to clinical research support openings such as project leaders, biostatisticians, data management leaders and, potentially, employees with expertise in vaccines and infectious diseases.
Orphan, which is profitable, “has had a nice growth trajectory over the past few years,” Dingivan said, and “we expect its profitable growth trend to continue.” She declined to disclose revenue projections. Emmes reached $155.7 million in 2020 revenue and is targeting another 30% jump in sales, Dingivan told us earlier this year.
Emmes is also continuing to search for and review acquisition targets, she said. Specifically, the organization is looking for those that further build up its work in the public sector, “diversify more aggressively” into the biopharmaceutical space, broaden its international work and deepen expertise in therapeutic areas including vaccines and infectious disease, ophthalmology, immunology, neuroscience and mental health.
