Suven Life, Asian Clinical merger on the cards

Hyderabad-based Suven Life Sciences is planning to merge Asian Clinical Trials, a clinical research organisation, with itself.

In a notice to the stock exchange, Suven Life Sciences has informed that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on March 4, 2006, to approve the draft scheme of merger of Asian Clinical Trials Ltd with the company.

Suven is into the design, manufacture and supply of bulk active, drug intermediates and fine chemicals, while Asian Clinical Trials provides services like phase II/ III/ IV clinical trials, post-marketing surveillance and clinical data management to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. Asian Clinical Trials was incorporated in April 2001 by Suven Life Sciences managing director Venkat Jasti.

According to Jasti, this merger will enable seamless transition of projects from one phase to another.

"This arrangement will ensure that all activities catering to the life sciences industry can be done under one roof," Jasti told Business Standard. The merged entity will continue with the name of Suven Life Sciences and Asian Clinical Trials will function as a separate business unit under the company.

Jasti, however, declined to comment on the combined revenues of the merged entity. For the third quarter ended December 2005, Suven registered an increase of 94 per cent in its total income at Rs 27.11 crore from Rs 13.95 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Its net profit for the third quarter surged by 181.57 per cent to Rs 3.21 crore as compared to Rs 1.14 crore in the previous corresponding quarter. Suven expects to file its first investigational new drug in the US before the end of 2006.