Celerion completes acquisition of MDS Pharma Services' early stage clinical development operations

Celerion, a privately owned contract research organization (CRO), has completed the acquisition of the development and regulatory services consultancy and early stage development operations of MDS Pharma Services. The acquired assets include five clinical research facilities and two bioanalytical laboratories located in Lincoln, Nebraska; Neptune, New Jersey; Phoenix, Arizona; Zurich, Switzerland; and Belfast, Northern Ireland, as well as operations in Richmond, Virginia and Quebec, Canada. With over 700 beds worldwide, Celerion is an industry leader in the conduct of early clinical research, including first-in-man to proof-of-concept clinical studies, clinical pharmacology, bioequivalence trials, bioanalysis, and cardiac safety services.

“Its combination of experienced people, scientific excellence, and state-of-the-art facilities constitutes a strong foundation for future growth. We look forward to continuing to provide our pharmaceutical, biotechnology and generic clients with leading early stage clinical research services. Like the company I am leading, my roots are in MDS Pharma Services.”

Celerion is derived from the Latin celeritas meaning swiftness and speed. This word reflects one of Celerion's founding principles: to deliver services that enable clients to get their products to market faster. It also underlies another key goal of the business: to assist clients in reaching informed go/no-go decisions on compounds in development as early as possible.

Life sciences and CRO industry veteran Susan Thornton, Ph.D., is Chief Executive Officer of Celerion. "I'm energized by the prospect of taking this great business to the next level of market leadership," she said. "Its combination of experienced people, scientific excellence, and state-of-the-art facilities constitutes a strong foundation for future growth. We look forward to continuing to provide our pharmaceutical, biotechnology and generic clients with leading early stage clinical research services. Like the company I am leading, my roots are in MDS Pharma Services."

Before her appointment as CEO of Celerion, Dr. Thornton was CEO and Managing Partner for BioVerum Partners, a healthcare advisory services firm that assists clients in maximizing the value of their life sciences businesses. In addition to over a decade of CRO industry experience, she has held various drug development roles at GlaxoSmithKline and Merck. Dr. Thornton earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.S. in microbiology and B.S. in psychology from Pennsylvania State University. Her appointment sets the precedent for the new leadership team at Celerion - individuals with extensive industry experience and knowledge, strongly positioning the company to address a broad range of drug development challenges.