The investment arm of Goldman Sachs and the Swedish private equity firm EQT have announced a $8.5 billion deal to acquire the clinical research company Parexel.
Clinical research companies have had their profiles raised over the course of the past year after playing a key role in the testing and development of COVID-19 therapeutics. They also played a key role for drug companies that were looking to continue the drug development process despite the pandemic, which could have derailed the testing process.
Parexel is a pioneer in the decentralized clinical trial space, which allows drug companies to complete drug trials virtually or through a hybrid model. That has allowed the company to be uniquely poised to prosper during COVID and likely after as drug developers reevaluate their testing procedures.
This announcement also follows Thermo Fisher Scientific’s $17.4 billion acquisition of PPD, another clinical researcher, during April.