Eurofins Agroscience Services Inc. acquires Research Options Inc.
August 14, 2008
Eurofins Agroscience Services Inc., the US operations of Eurofins Agroscience Services, has announced its acquisition of Research Options Inc. The US based CRO now boasts wholly owned field facilities in Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Florida and a satellite field station in California and looks to concentrate on actively growing the business over the next 12-18 months. David Jenkins, previously the owner of Research Options Inc. becomes Vice President of Operations.
Eurofins Agroscience Services is a leading provider of field and scientific research services, product development consultancy and technical support to the crop protection industry. Technical activities involve conducting field and laboratory studies to determine the safety and efficacy of new pesticides, agrochemicals and crop varieties.
Founded in the EU and part of the Eurofins Scientific Group, Eurofins Agroscience Services began working in North America in 2006 as a result of a growing demand for CRO’s that are capable of managing development programs across the country. The Company aims to adopt a partnership approach with its clients, based on its very successful European model.
“The US represents a great challenge for us. With the structural changes to clients’ in-house R&D capabilities there is a substantial demand for outsourced regulatory field studies,” explains Eurofins Agroscience Services’ President, Ian Greig. “The addition of Research Options to our current operation really adds a new dimension to our offering and widens our geographic ‘in house’ reach. With cultural similarities and a common approach to research we are very excited about working together with David and his group in the future.” Greig adds that “By utilising the well established strategic and operational expertise of our European business and Eurofins’ existing US infrastructure for financial and administrative support, we expect to operate substantially reduced overheads compared with any US competitors. This will allow us to concentrate our technical resources entirely on delivering regulatory research as cost effectively as possible”.
Following the acquisition of Research Options Inc, the plan includes the creation of a nation-wide network of facilities in all of the key regulatory growing areas of North America.
For further information on Eurofins Agroscience Services Inc., please contact Ian Greig on (+1) 704 517 2631 / ian.greig@eurofinsagro.com or visit the website at www.eurofinsagro.com
Notes for the editor:Eurofins – a global leader in bio-analysis
Eurofins Scientific is a life sciences company operating internationally to provide a comprehensive range of analytical testing services to clients from a wide range of industries including the pharmaceutical, food and environmental sectors. With about 7,000 staff in more than 150 laboratories across 29 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 25,000 reliable analytical methods for evaluating the authenticity, origin, safety, identity, composition and purity of biological substances and products. The Group is committed to provide its customers with high quality services, accurate results in time and, if requested, expert advice by our highly qualified staff. The Eurofins Group is one of the global market leaders in this field of applied life sciences. It intends to pursue its dynamic growth strategy and expand both its technology portfolio and its geographic reach.
Through R&D, in-licensing and acquisitions, the Group draws on the latest developments in the field of biotechnology to offer its clients unique analytical solutions and the most comprehensive range of testing methods. As one of the most innovative and quality oriented international players in its industry, Eurofins is ideally positioned to support its clients’ increasingly stringent quality and safety standards and the demands of regulatory authorities around the world. The shares of Eurofins Scientific are listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris (ISIN FR0000038259) and Frankfurt (WKN 910251) Stock Exchanges (Reuters EUFI.LN, Bloomberg ERF FP, ESF, EUFI.DE).