Wolf Theiss, working with Ropes & Gray, has advised drug development contract research organization QPS Holdings on the full sale of its QPS Neuropharmacology business unit to Scantox. Dorda, working with Denmark's Accura, advised Scantox.
The transaction was signed on November 29, 2023.
QPS is a good laboratory practice/good clinical practice-compliant contract research organization delivering discovery, preclinical, and clinical drug development services. Since 1995, it has expanded to over 1,200 employees in the US, Europe, India, and Asia.
Scantox is a Nordic pre-clinical good laboratory practice-accredited contract research organization. Its focus lies in pharmacology and regulatory toxicology. The company is headquartered in Denmark with one domestic subsidiary and three additional subsidiaries in Sweden. Founded in 1977, Scantox is currently owned by Impilo, a Nordic healthcare investment company.
After the sale is complete, QPS will retain the European clinical division including the service capabilities in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Croatia, where QPS has a long history of conducting late-phase clinical trials in neurodegenerative diseases, oncology, and various rare diseases.
"The sale of QPS Neuropharmacology is a natural transition in the development of QPS as a full-service, global CRO focused on preclinical, bioanalysis, and clinical research operational services," QPS Holdings President and CEO Ben Chien commented. "We believe that the neuropharmacology unit will be strengthened and continue to grow as part of the Scantox organization."
The Wolf Theiss team included Partners Clara Gordon, Niklas Schmidt, Guenter Bauer, Kurt Retter, and Matthias Unterrieder, Counsels Doris Buxbaum and Paulina Pomorski, Consultant Karin Spindler-Simader, Senior Associates Magdalena Ziembicka and Dominik Engel, and Associates Julia Male, Sophie Weber, and Pascal Gstoettner.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, Dorda announced the composition of its team advising Scantox Denmark. The firm's team included Partners Andreas Mayr, Christoph Brogyanyi, and Francine Brogyanyi, Principal Associates Patricia Backhausen and Florina Thenmayer, and Associates Isabel Maurer and Philipp Fedan.