RRD International, a specialized product development company that provides strategic and operational support to biopharmaceutical companies and investors, announced today it has been acquired by Uniphar plc, a Dublin, Ireland based company. Uniphar is a diversified, international healthcare service provider to more than 200 multinational biopharmaceutical and medical manufacturers, delivering services to 160+ countries across three divisions – Commercial & Clinical, Product Access, and Supply Chain & Retail.
Ger Rabbette, CEO of Uniphar said, "We are excited to announce the acquisition of RRD which adds significantly to our US Product Access capabilities. Becoming a truly global partner for our clients in this area is an important strategic objective for our group. The highly experienced RRD team brings deep US regulatory insights which will further accelerate our growth towards market leadership. The acquisition marks an important strategic milestone for the group and brings our US workforce to more than 10% of total global headcount."
"The transaction offers several significant, mutually-beneficial synergies and we're excited about the value it will bring to our partners," said Scott Tarrant, president of RRD. "The agreement provides Uniphar with greater access to early stage development companies creating a growth pathway for new Expanded Access Programs (EAP) in the US as well as greater access to Ex-US EAP business and potential licensing opportunities for Uniphar's Commercial & Clinical business segment. It allows RRD to add new capabilities that further extend our development support to later stage clinical development."
Under the terms of the agreement, RRD will continue to operate autonomously while leveraging the resources and reach of Uniphar. Such support enables RRD to accelerate its growth through new capabilities in Expanded Access Programs (EAP) for rare disease products and the addition of potentially high-value acquisitions that broaden the Company's service offerings to its product development partners.
"Over the past 18 years, we've played a critical role for our partners, helping transform numerous early-stage, innovative product candidates into holistic development programs which leverage our scientific and regulatory driven approach as well as in-house capabilities to accelerate delivery of new medicines to patients with serious diseases," said Chuck Finn, PhD, chairman and CEO of RRD. "This partnership enables us to realize the potential of RRD's unique development model while, simultaneously, expanding it to support Uniphar's Product Access business in the US."
Support of EAP is a natural extension of RRD's capabilities as biopharma companies and the FDA work together to accelerate patient access to promising drugs for serious diseases, and collect real-world treatment experience—gained through EAP data—to support regulatory filings ranging from initial approvals, informing off-label use, and driving new label claims.
Concurrent with the acquisition, RRD will implement its strategic succession plan with Chuck Finn, PhD, transitioning to the role of chief scientific and development officer and Scott Tarrant becoming CEO. These planned changes will not only increase operational efficiency as RRD becomes part of a larger public enterprise under the Uniphar group but, also, enable a focus on core strengths as the Company moves into its next phase of growth.
RRD was represented by Clearsight Advisors, an investment banking firm, headquartered in McLean, VA.
ABOUT RRD INTERNATIONAL:
RRD International is a product development company that provides integrated, expert-level strategic, regulatory and operational support to biopharmaceutical companies and investors. The Company's unique Product Development Team model (PDT) provides an effective, asset-centric alternative to traditional industry practices. While comprehensive in value, structure and function – encompassing all aspects of a development program including strategic planning, management and execution – the PDT model is also highly resource efficient with an intense focus on minimizing cost, time and risk to achieve human proof-of-concept (POC). Since 2002, RRD has worked with more than 100 organizations across all major classes and therapeutic areas. For more information, visit rrdintl.com.
ABOUT UNIPHAR:
Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Uniphar plc is an international diversified healthcare services business, servicing the requirements of more than 200 multinational pharmaceutical and medical technology manufacturers across three divisions - Commercial & Clinical, Product Access and Supply Chain & Retail.
The Group has strong established relationships with 7 of the top 10 pharma companies and 6 of the top 10 medical device companies. With a workforce of more than 2,300, the Group is active in Ireland, the UK, the Benelux, the Nordics and the US, delivering unlicensed and specialty medicine on a global basis.
The Group's vision is to improve patient access to pharmaco-medical products and treatments by enhancing connectivity between manufacturers and healthcare stakeholders. Uniphar represents a strong combination of scale, growth and profitability.
