Seeking to enhance its capabilities in the design and execution of portfolio-wide adaptive clinical trials for pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, Icon has agreed to acquire Aptiv Solutions, a global services company focused on enhancing clinical trial decision-making, for $143.5 million in cash.

In acquiring Aptiv, based in Reston, Va., Icon will enhance its software product support for the design, simulation and analysis of adaptive trials. Aptiv’s software also is used by the FDA and regulators in Europe and Japan.

“Icon is the perfect fit,” said Pat Donnelly, chairman and CEO of Aptiv Solutions. “With the globalization of clinical trials and our existing capabilities, we needed to quickly get into Latin America, parts of Asia and other marketplaces. Our deal with Icon enables us to fulfill our strategy. For them, they get leading adaptive design expertise and decision-making capabilities moving into phase II rather than waiting for pivotal phase III trials.  And there is almost zero client overlap.”

Donnelly said the two companies began acquisition talks last fall about how the two might fit together, but did not discuss the economics of the deal until December. He noted both companies have a shared focus on innovation that will position the combined entity as “the go-to service provider for design and execution of adaptive trials for drug, diagnostic and medical companies in a fast-growing marketplace.”

For Icon, the Aptiv acquisition provides added experience in the management of medical device trials, leveraging its adaptive capabilities and regulatory expertise to expedite the development of a wide range of medical devices. Aptiv’s software, called ADDPLAN,  is used by  more than 50 large pharmaceutical and medical device companies and  academic researchers.

Icon also gains Aptiv’s recently formed consortium of major drug companies collaboratively developing new statistical methodologies for the design of innovative dose-finding clinical trials, with an emphasis on adaptive designs. The co-founding companies are Novartis Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly.

Nuala Murphy, president, Icon Clinical Research Services, said Aptiv’s adaptive trial capabilities “will further differentiate and enhance our services to help our customers identify the most promising drug candidates earlier. Their presence in Japan will also broaden our existing capabilities in this market.”