The acquisition means biotech clients can access Novotech's unique and unparalleled suite of early to late-phase CRO services across Europe and the US, with a specialist focus on Asia Pacific where the company has built a reputation for delivering high-quality expedited clinical trials.

Novotech CEO Dr. John Moller said: "This acquisition is a strategic move to further expand our CRO operations and provide biotech clients with in-country expertise across Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe to deliver their global drug development programs. EastHORN and Novotech have been working together for many years and we share a culture of clinical excellence in biotech drug development. EastHORN which is retaining its brand, is now a Novotech company and will be integrated into our systems and processes so clients benefit from working with one CRO globally. Clients can now access our exceptional European infrastructure, local knowledge, site relationships and access to diverse patient populations."

EastHORN Executive Chairman Iain Gordon said: "I first started working on clinical projects with Novotech 15 years ago and have always been impressed by the quality of their services and their client-focused approach. EastHORN has been working closely with Novotech for over a decade now and have many friends within the Novotech team. This is a natural next step for our group and my colleagues and I are excited to become part of Novotech's global operations to support biotech clients' clinical programs. In particular, we can now offer our clients access to Novotech's team of experts across Asia-Pacific and the US including project management, regulatory, clinical, medical and biometrics, while our team's European expertise can advance clinical development in Europe for Novotech clients. We work with similar-sized biotechs and small to mid-size pharma companies and have experience across the same therapeutic areas, so this is an excellent cultural and strategic fit."

Novotech has decades of biotech drug development experience, exceptional site and investigator relationships, access to vast patient populations, and a project management approach focused on problem-solving, ownership and flexibility. Consistent investment in advanced training and technology combines to deliver an exceptional full-service biotech CRO solution.

Novotech has recently been recognised with significant CRO awards including the Asia-Pacific Biotech CRO of the Year by Frost & Sullivan, benchmarked as a top 10 CRO among the world's leading CROs, a finalist in the prestigious Scrip awards, and has just been awarded the Gene & Cell Therapy Excellence Award. In Asia Pacific Novotech has more than 50 Leading Site Partnership agreements with major medical research institutions which delivers exclusive benefits for sponsors.