Overview

Benchmark Research has been acquired by IQVIA, combined with Avacare, to expand vaccine and clinical trial site capabilities.

Significance

To bring vaccines to market successfully, sponsors rely on sites with specific vaccine expertise to conduct clinical trials. These sites provide end-to-end support services, handling everything from patient recruitment to regulatory compliance to data collection in timelines that are more compressed than traditional clinical trials. With the global vaccine market expected to exceed $65 billion by 2026, CROs are expanding their vaccine expertise in order to serve the growing demand.

Founded in 1997, Benchmark Research (Benchmark) has distinguished itself the leading site network for vaccine trials in the industry, having conducted more than 1,000 trials with 40,000+ participants across its network of 10 clinical trial sites. During the development of the initial COVID-19 vaccines, Benchmark emerged as the preferred SMO due to its longstanding reputation for quality among pharma sponsors and served as a model of excellence across the industry. Benchmark was also the founding alliance partner of hyperCORE International, a network of premier sites, and VaxCorps, a network of clinical research centers specializing in vaccine trials. This market leadership position made Benchmark the ideal acquisition for IQVIA to expand its vaccine clinical trial SMO capabilities.

Crosstree’s Role

Crosstree’s expertise in both the clinical trial site and deep understanding of Benchmark’s unique value proposition helped the firm advise Benchmark in identifying IQVIA as the ideal transaction partner through:

• Evaluating a broad slate of potential financial and strategic partners
• Leveraging market expertise to identify the ideal partner to maximize synergies and optimize outcome for both parties
• Developing and articulating a strong value proposition which connected client capabilities with market trends to weave a compelling narrative for potential buyers