An HIT

OmniComm Systems (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) and eResearchTechnology (ERT; Philadelphia), a provider of technology and services that enable the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries worldwide to collect, interpret, and distribute cardiac safety and clinical data, reported that OmniComm has acquired the electronic data capture (EDC) business of ERT.

"We believe strongly in the long-term growth of the EDC and eClinical markets. We have positioned ourselves to be a leading provider of EDC solutions and expect this transaction to allow us to grow more rapidly," said Cornelis Wit, CEO of OmniComm.

He added, "By combining the two EDC businesses, OmniComm extends and deepens its roster of EDC customers and gains several key technologies that can be added to the TrialMaster eClinical suite of applications. We believe that we will be able to leverage our existing EDC infrastructure and expertise to further penetrate the combined portfolio of customers."

Wit said, "The eClinical industry is going through a period of consolidation and we believe that only those firms that can combine superior products and services along with a demonstrated ability to deliver a broad array of solutions will be able to effectively compete. We are dedicated to broadening the products and services we offer and developing as diverse a client base as possible."

He said, "Our expansion into Europe during 2007-2008 was the first prong of executing on this strategy. ERT has served several markets, including the governmental sector and Fortune 500 sponsors, that complement our focus on biotech and medical device clinical trial sponsors."

Revenues of the ERT EDC business were $5.9 million in the year ended Dec. 31, 2008 and $1.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2009. ERT said it anticipates that the sale, excluding any impact of one-time charges related to the sale, will not affect the company's 2009 fiscal year guidance.

OmniComm issued 8.1 million shares of common stock and assumed certain liabilities including deferred revenue relating to ERT's EDC business in exchange for the EDC assets of ERT, which primarily include its EDC software, applications and fixed assets and $1.15 million in cash paid by ERT.

OmniComm said it would open a new branch office in the New Jersey area and will be transitioning the majority of the ERT eClinical support team to this new office to provide on-going support and maintenance to the ERT customers it acquires.

In other dealmaking news, Concerro (San Diego) reported that it has acquired all of the product assets and related intellectual property of PortBlue's (Los Angeles) hospital incident management system line of business.

CommandAware enables hospitals to prepare for, manage, and recover from disasters and incidents of all kinds, while also providing the functionality for day-to-day hospital capacity management. Its regional data-sharing system enables multi-agency regional coordination through the sharing of data on capacity, equipment and supplies, critical infrastructure and personnel with real-time Incident Command System status.

"With the sale of our CommandAware line of business to Concerro, we believe CommandAware will have the resources necessary to provide our fine hospital customers with the support, service and further product development they expect, and enable CommandAware to maintain its position as the leading hospital incident command system in the country," said PortBlue CEO Paul Dimitruk. "We believe CommandAware has the potential to transform incident management in healthcare and Concerro is an ideal company to take the product to the next stage."