UK clinical development organization Ergomed has paid $10 million cash to buy Ashfield Pharmacovigilance, a US-based specialist pharmacovigilance services provider based at Cary in the North Carolina Research Triangle. Seller is UDG Healthcare.

Ergomed said the acquisition supports its drive to further develop its broader combined clinical research and pharmacovigilance business globally and provides a platform for potential further growth in North America.

For Miroslav Reljanovic, Ergomed’s executive chairman, the purchase of Ashfield is “a major step forward in the strategically important US market”. He commented: “It provides a significant US pharmacovigilance presence and access to a genuinely global offering for customers.

Relijanovic added that the buy also strengthens the US platform for the Ergomed clinical research organization’s business as it continues it drive toward becoming a leading mid-tier pharmaceutical services specialist with a global presence.

Ashfield, founded as Drug Safety Alliance in 2000 and acquired by UDG in 2012, will now become part of Ergomed’s PrimeVigilance division. In the fiscal year ending Sep. 30 2019, Ashfield reported revenues of $11.6 million and adjusted EBITDA of $900,000, with net assets of $2.8 million. Its order book stood at $9.8 million.