Durham-based Clinverse acquired by Pennsylvania company

Clinverse, a Durham company whose software is used by drug companies and contract research organizations, has been acquired by a privately-held Pennsylvania company.

Bioclinica, which is based in Doylestown about 40 miles north of Philadelphia, announced the deal Tuesday. Terms weren’t disclosed.

Bioclinica offers a range of services designed to help companies conduct more efficient clinical trials.

Clinverse is to become part of Bioclinica’s eHealth Solutions division, which provides technology to help pharmaceutical and contract research organizations, or CROs, better manage and conduct clinical trials. CROs help drug companies conduct clinical trials and analyze the results.

Clinverse’s cloud-based ClinPay software automates the complex process of paying hospitals, physicians and research centers for work conducted in conjunction with clinical trials of experimental drugs. The company employs 60 people, including 18 in Durham.

Jay Trepanier, Clinverse’s CEO, said the company would remain in Durham, where Bioclinica already has a small number of employees. Trepanier will continue to lead Clinverse and report to the president of Bioclinica’s eHealth Solutions division.

Trepanier said Clinverse hired an investment banker to explore whether it should raise another round of funding or sell itself. Clinverse ended up talking to about 10 companies and receiving several offers.

Clinverse chose Bioclinica because it offered the best opportunity to accelerate the company’s growth, Trepanier said. Clinverse will now be able to sell its products to Bioclinica’s existing customers, and go after much larger pharma and CRO customers both in the U.S. and worldwide.

Clinverse has more than 30 customers, but Trepanier said several large potential customers have been worried about the company’s financial stability and small size.

“This quickly alleviates that, so right around the corner we’re going to be able announce some very large opportunities and relationships,” said Trepanier, who expects Clinverse’s workforce to more than double over the next year.

Bioclinica has about 2,000 employees and is owned by two private equity firms, JLL Partners and Water Street Healthcare Partners.

The CRO industry has been slow to adopt automated solutions for payments and forecasting, Trepanier said, but that is expected to change in the coming years as CROs look for ways to cut costs, expedite the payment process and become more efficient.

“It’s a very untapped market that we believe is well over a $1 billion,” he said.

Clinverse is one of three major players offering automation software to the industry, along with Greenphire and CFS, which is owned by DrugDev.

“We’re all just scratching the surface as the market’s getting ready to turn,” Trepanier said.

Clinverse was founded in Charlotte in 2008 but moved to the Triangle two years later because of the wealth of CROs in the area. It has raised $17 million in two rounds of funding.

Among the company’s investors is Durham-based Hatteras Venture Partners.

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Durham-based Clinverse acquired by Pennsylvania company."