Huron acquires Click Commerce to expand research technology footprint

Huron Consulting Group Inc.Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HURN), a leading provider of business consulting services, today announced the acquisition of Click Commerce, Inc., a provider of software-based solutions and professional services to leading academic medical centers and research institutions. The purchase further enhances the Company's higher education and healthcare research technology solutions for clients in the business of research.

“Click's software expertise and their extensive knowledge of our health and education market will provide Huron's clients with decades of experience and the tools they need to improve the management of basic research and clinical trials.”

"The addition of Click expands our research technology footprint and enhances our ability to provide our academic medical center and research institution clients with proven technology solutions," said James H. Roth, chief executive officer, Huron Consulting Group. "Click's software expertise and their extensive knowledge of our health and education market will provide Huron's clients with decades of experience and the tools they need to improve the management of basic research and clinical trials."

Click Commerce, based in Beaverton, Ore., focuses on software solutions for research administration and compliance. They have a track record of successfully implementing grant management and regulatory compliance projects of significant scale and complexity at leading research institutions, academic medical centers and hospitals. Click Commerce's eResearch Portal is designed to unify multiple research-related business processes into an integrated, comprehensive electronic solution. They are a leader in large-scale deployments with a client list that includes many of the largest National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research institutions.

Click Commerce's approximately 60 employees will join Huron's Higher Education practice, including Nick Stier, Gary Raetz, and Gary Whitney, who will serve as Huron managing directors. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

"The alignment of Huron's and Click's products and services couldn't be better," said Nick Stier, president of Click Commerce, Inc. "We have had the opportunity to work together on shared-client projects in the past, and we know that our complementary skills create very powerful and innovative solutions. Together, we will have a clear path to provide customers with even more significant regulatory and administrative benefits than was possible in the past."

Research institutions are faced with unique business, research administration and compliance requirements. The acquisition expands Huron's platform for future development of software and service products aimed at higher education and healthcare institutions. The Huron-Click combination provides clients with premier software products coupled with a market leading service provider in areas such as grant administration, IRB (Institutional Review Board), IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee), COI (Conflict of Interest) management, and other highly regulated areas of federally funded research and complex compliance matters.

Source: Huron Consulting Group Inc.