The Institute for Biological Research and Development Inc. (IBRD),a contract research organization (CRO) with operations in the U.S.and Japan, increased its reach into Europe with the acquisition ofU.K.-based Rostrum.

IBRD, of Irvine, Calif., became a subsidiary of Tokyo-based KurayaCorp., in 1990. The combined company established IBRD Japan, andthe new entity, IBRD-Rostrum Global Ltd., adds offices in SouthAfrica, Australia and throughout Europe.

Richard Nichol, president and CEO of IBRD-Rostrum, toldBioWorld that Rostrum was the largest independent CRO in theU.K., with annual sales of about $10 million. The combinedcompany's annual sales will be about $35 million, he said.

"Our customers are interested in coordinated one-stop shopping,"Nichol said. "They want simultaneous registration activities in thethree largest markets [Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.]. This was the lastpiece of the puzzle."

Nichol said Rostrum, founded in 1984 and based in Romford, Essex,employs about 130 people. Through the purchase, IBRD alsoacquired subsidiaries in Paris and Germany. Rostrum has clinicaltrials ongoing in various Eastern European countries.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but were "consistent with thevaluation of privately held CROs in the rest of the world," Nicholsaid. _ Jim Shrine

------------------------------Jay Lawrence - Cartermill Inc.410 563-2378 phone410 563-5389 fax------------------------------Jay Lawrence - Cartermill Inc.410 563-2378 phone410 563-5389 fax

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