PRA Health Sciences

Updated on Dec 25, 2024

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Formerly called PRA International Traded as NASDAQ: PRAH Founded 1976		Type Public Area served Worldwide Number of locations 80

Trading name PRA Health Sciences Inc. Industry Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology Stock price PRAH (NASDAQ) US$ 59.40 +0.41 (+0.70%)17 Mar, 4:00 PM GMT-4 - Disclaimer Headquarters Raleigh, North Carolina, United States Subsidiaries Pharmaceutical Research Associates International, Inc. Profiles LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube

PRA Health Sciences is a Contract Research Organization with headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. The organization has worked on 100+ drugs marketed across several therapeutic areas and conducted the pivotal or supportive trials that led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and/or international regulatory approval of 50+ such drugs.

History

PRA was founded in 1976 as the Anti-Inflammatory Drug Study Group in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. Renamed PRA in 1982, it established itself as a data-management Contract Research Organization (CRO). After a number of strategic decisions to enhance its service offerings, the company became PRA Health Sciences in June 2014, incorporating partnerships and acquisitions made throughout 2012 and 2013.

Key dates:

1976: Anti-Inflammatory Drug Study Group formed in Charlottesville, VA

1982: Company established as Pharmaceutical Research Associates Inc. (PRA), a Data Management Contract Research Organization (CRO)

1991: Services extended to Clinical Trial Management and Drug safety. First European office established

1996: Acquired by Carlyle Group and reached 333 employees

1997: Acquired IMTCI in Lenexa, Kansas, USA whose facility included a Phase I unit

1999: Acquired Valorum (UK) with Regulatory and Product Registration teams

2000: Acquired ARCAM, Paris, France. Reached 1,000 employee landmark

2001: Acquired by Genstar Capital

2002: Acquired Staticon in Madrid, Spain and CroMedica to increase CNS expertise and expand its global footprint

2004: IPO made PRA a publicly traded stock on NASDAQ. Acquired Valid-Trio, Moscow, Russia and ClinCare in Russia, Belgium

2005: Acquired GMG BioBusiness Limited in the UK and Regulatory/Clinical Consultants in the USA. Reached 2,500 employee landmark

2006: Acquired Sterling Synergy Systems in Mumbai, India and Pharma Bio research in The Netherlands which formed the basis for the group within PRA now known as Early Development Services

2007: Reacquired by Genstar Capital and returns to being privately held. Acquired Pharmacon in Berlin, Germany. Opened its 25th office and reached 3,300 employees

2008: Moves global HQ to Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

2010: Colin Shannon named CEO. Bioanalytical Lab in Lenexa, Kansas, USA opened

2011: Acquired Kinship Technologies in Chennai, India

2012: Entered into a joint venture with WuXi PharmaTech to offer a broad platform of services in China, Hong Kong and Macau. Opened facilities in Singapore, Utrecht, The Netherlands, Beijing, China and Belgrade, Serbia

2013: Reached 10,000 employee and 70 office landmark. Purchased by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), one of the world's leading Private Equity firms. Acquired ClinStar, a CRO/logistics firm providing services in Russia and Eastern Europe and RPS which later became the Strategic Solutions division of the company. Later in Nov 2013 acquired CRI Lifetree, a specialized research organization focusing on the conduct and design of early stage, patient population studies

2014: Renamed PRA Health Sciences to fully incorporate the companies within the PRA family, (RPS, CRI Lifetree, ClinStar and WuXiPRA). Launched a new website experience. PRA floats on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on November 13, 2014 under the ticker symbol “PRAH”

2015: PRA opened a new bioanalytical laboratory in Assen, the Netherlands

2016: PRA is named Clinical Research Company of the Year at the PharmaTimes USA and International Clinical Researcher of the Year competitions. PRA acquired Nextrials, a San Francisco-based, eClinical software company.

Contribution to clinical development

PRA Health Sciences (PRA) has worked to develop a variety of compounds, ranging from niche treatments and therapies to blockbuster drugs.

PRA has participated in several Clinical Trials of note such as the Landmark Alzheimer's Prevention Clinical Trial, a collaborative effort involving the Banner Alzheimer's Institute (BAI); Genentech, a member of the Roche Group; the University of Antioquia in Colombia; and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

PRA were instrumental in supporting Gilead Sciences, Inc. with an FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for Sovaldi (Sofosbuvir), which was approved by the FDA in December 2013. In addition, it was given a Notice of Compliance by Health Canada in December 2013, and granted Marketing Authorization by the European Commission in January 2014. Treatment is leading to higher cure rates and shortened, simplified therapy regimens for many Hepatitis C patients.

The organization has completed its 20th first in human trial with biologics. The milestone is the culmination of 600 subjects enrolled in over eight years of first-in-human biologics trials, including directly into patient experience.

In late 2015 PRA announced a collaboration with Alliance for Multispecialty Research (AMR) in an effort to accelerate new vaccines to market.

Accolades

PRA Health Sciences was named "Best CRO in Asia" at the BioPharma Asia Industry Awards in 2013 and 2015.

In the 2016 PharmaTimes US Clinical Researcher of the Year competition it was named "Clinical Company of the Year", as well achieving awards in several other categories.

The organization was awarded "International Clinical Company of the Year" at the PharmaTimes International Clinical Researcher of the Year contest in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Several employees were also recognized in individual categories.

In March 2016, PRA was awarded a Top Workplaces accolade by Philly.com. In the same month the company was also recognized in the Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) Awards in the "Best Contract Research Organization", receiving a "highly commended" designation.

References

PRA Health Sciences Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

Contents

History

Contribution to clinical development

Accolades

References