United Drug purchases Drug Safety Alliance

United Drug has announced the acquisition of Drug Safety Alliance (DSA), a leading pharmacovigilance business based in North Carolina.

The purchased company provides safety and risk management services supporting pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, animal and consumer health organisations, complementing United Drug's existing Alliance business.

United Drug will pay up to $28 million (17.66 million pounds) to acquire the entire issued share capital of DSA, which will become part of its sales, marketing and medical division once the deal closes.

Liam FitzGerald, chief executive of United Drug, said DSA has a strong reputation for high-quality service delivery.

He added: "This transaction extends United Drug's position and reputation as an international provider of outsourced services to life sciences companies with an unrivalled service offering."

This comes in the same week that the company also announced the takeover of Synopia, a provider of market access services to pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers, for a total consideration of up to $12 million.