Day: December 9, 2022

SYDNEY, Australia, Dec. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — George Clinical announces that it has entered into a sale agreement with Hillhouse, a global investment firm with deep experience in partnering with and supporting healthcare businesses. The transaction will allow George Clinical to continue a path of rapid global expansion and leadership in Asia-Pacific clinical research services while providing considerable new investment.

Over the past several years, George Clinical has grown to be a leading APAC-born, global clinical research organization (CRO) providing clients access to the fastest growing clinical trial markets in the world. The purchase of George Clinical affords the organization long-term investment and the backing to support the firm’s continuing vision to bring the best “Science, Service and Solutions” to their pharmaceutical and biotech clients around the globe.

“Our acquisition by Hillhouse presents an immense opportunity for George Clinical to achieve even greater success in the next phase of our development. There is a good cultural and strategic fit with the team at Hillhouse and much synergy to be had with healthcare being a key sector of their portfolio,” said James Cheong, CEO. “The path ahead is very exciting for our company, our staff and our clients as we will now have a bigger platform to continue our important mission to improve the health of millions of people worldwide and doing so with much more vigor in our new ownership structure.”

Hillhouse is a leading global investment firm of investment professionals and operating executives who are focused on building and partnering with high-quality franchises that achieve sustainable growth.  The firm invests in companies across all equity stages and has strong experience in the healthcare industry. Investing globally for more than 17 years, Hillhouse has funded over 150 health care companies operating in more than 60 countries across the range of healthcare sub-sectors, including healthcare services, pharmaceutical development, medical devices, dental, and eyecare.  The firm takes pride in its work and commitment to help treat diseases like cancer, immune disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and eye diseases.

This transaction with Hillhouse validates the value of the platform that George Clinical has built and will provide the company with the necessary support to drive its growth plans and maximize full market potential. This includes the expansion of the George Clinical global footprint, the extension and diversification of therapeutic expertise, the broadening of service offerings, and investment in processes and systems for greater efficiencies in project delivery. Hillhouse expects to leverage its experience and relationships in the healthcare sector to augment George Clinical’s exposure to prospective high-quality biotech customers globally to drive increased clinical trial activity for George Clinical.

The George Institute will hold a minority stake in George Clinical following the acquisition and will maintain a collaboration in applicable scientific areas such as in the Global Kidney Patients Trials Network (GKPTN).

“The management of George Clinical had the mission and vision to build a global CRO founded in APAC whose model and approach would work around the world. This is reflected in the success they have enjoyed and why Hillhouse expects to see this organization continue to grow and improve the health of millions worldwide,” said Sean Carney, Partner, Hillhouse.

Glenn Kerkhof, Chairman of George Clinical stated, “We are delighted to partner with the team at Hillhouse to support our ambitious growth plans. We also thank The George Institute for our proud association to date that has shaped an emerging, scientifically-led and differentiated clinical CRO. Under our new owners, Hillhouse, we will have greater capacity to invest in our growth and create a mid-tier global CRO based in Asia, the fastest growing market for clinical trials.”

The transaction is subject to FIRB approval.

BofA Securities acted as lead financial advisor on the transaction and Lazard Australia acted as co-advisor.   Herbert Smith Freehills acted as legal advisor on the transaction.

About George Clinical
George Clinical is a leading global clinical research organization founded in Asia-Pacific driven by scientific expertise and operational excellence. With over 20 years of experience and more than 450 people managing over 39 geographical locations throughout the Asia-Pacific region, USA, and Europe, George Clinical provides the full range of clinical trial services to biopharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic customers, for all trial phases, registration and post-marketing trials.

About Hillhouse
Hillhouse builds businesses that stand the test of time. We are long-term investors focused on partnering with world-class entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses globally. Over more than 17 years, we’ve worked alongside iconic companies that have redefined their industries. With offices globally, we have the flexibility to work across the private equity spectrum, from seed investments to buyouts. We manage capital on behalf of global institutions, such as non-profit foundations and pensions, and are proud that our efforts help support educational scholarships, scientific innovation, and artistic achievements across the world.

Website:	https://www.georgeclinical.com
LinkedIn:	https://www.linkedin.com/company/george-clinical-pty-ltd
Twitter:	https://twitter.com/george_clinical
Facebook:	https://www.facebook.com/georgeclinical
WeChat:	https://mp.weixin.qq.com/

For more information, contact:
Sean L. Hart
Chief Business Officer
T +1-913-827-6441
E shart@georgeclinical.com
W georgeclinical.com | georgeinstitute.org

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8711489

Purchase Strengthens Park Place as Global Leader for all IT Infrastructure Solutions, as Economy and Skills Gap Challenges Impact Global Business.

CLEVELAND, Dec. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Park Place Technologies, the leading global data center and networking optimization firm, has acquired the TPM and Professional Services assets of CentricsIT, an IT services provider based in Atlanta, Georgia.

The demand for Professional Services is growing globally, driven by economic conditions and skills gaps. Park Place’s Professional Services offering will benefit from the acquisition with greater capabilities in IMAC, ITAD, Remote Hands, and deployment services, including cabling, wi-fi surveys, data center installs and refreshes, and network installations. Park Place clients will benefit from a state-of-the-art Professional Services portal developed by CentricsIT that provides real-time project status, reporting, and collaboration tools. Park Place’s Project Management Office function will be enhanced with the addition of Project Management Institute-certified CentricsIT employees worldwide. CentricsIT customers will gain access to Park Place Technologies’ unique portfolio of products and services, including automated monitoring and managed services.

Chris Adams, President and CEO of Park Place Technologies, said in addition to investing in Professional Services, Park Place continues to focus on providing exceptional customer service and support. “When acquiring businesses, we always search for companies that are intensely focused on customer service and have a similar culture and value set to PPT. CentricsIT delivers that and more,” he said. “Our combined Professional Services capabilities are evolving to meet client needs, and this will accelerate that CX agenda. CentricsIT’s EVP of Global Services, Patrick Keuller, will join the global Professional Services group. Patrick brings decades of experience and understands the growing needs of companies around the globe that are struggling to recruit skilled stafff and stretching budgets to efficiently manage their infrastructures.”

CentricsIT has been a global leader in IT lifecycle management solutions and professional services since 2007. As the company transitions its professional services and TPM divisions to Park Place Technologies, it will retain its server, storage and networking resale division.

“We’re pleased to have found the right fit in Park Place Technologies for our services practice to grow and thrive,” said CentricsIT founder and CEO Derek Odegard. “We know they will continue to excel in service delivery and client support.”

This is Park Place’s fourth acquisition in 2022.

“Agile Equity provided investment banking services to CentricsIT and facilitated the transaction,” Odegard said. “We enjoyed working with the Agile Equity team. Their expertise in the data center infrastructure industry was very beneficial throughout the transaction.”

Founded in 1991, Park Place Technologies is powered by the world’s largest on-the-ground engineering team, a robust group of hundreds of advanced engineers and its fully staffed 24x7x365 Enterprise Operations Center. Park Place leverages a global parts supply chain, automation, machine learning and a comprehensive portfolio of services and products to optimize networking and data center uptime and performance.

About Park Place Technologies

Park Place Technologies is a global data center and networking optimization firm. Powered by the world’s largest on-the-ground engineering team, a robust group of advanced engineers and our fully staffed, 24x7x365 Enterprise Operations Center, we offer a robust portfolio of IT solutions to optimize networking and data center uptime and performance. Our services include third-party data center hardware maintenance, professional services, infrastructure managed services, network performance monitoring and hardware sales. Through our unique and fully integrated DMSO (Discover, Monitor, Support, Optimize) approach, customers enjoy streamlined infrastructure monitoring and management, cost efficiencies, less chaos, and faster mean-time-to-resolution – ultimately providing the freedom to think bigger. Park Place’s industry-leading and award-winning services include Park Place Hardware Maintenance, Park Place Professional Services, ParkView Managed Services, Entuity Software and Curvature Hardware sales. For more information, visit www.parkplacetechnologies.com. Park Place is a portfolio company of Charlesbank Capital Partners and GTCR.

Jennifer Deutsch
Park Place Technologies
(440) 991-3105
jdeutsch@parkplacetech.com

Michael Miller
Park Place Technologies
(440) 991-5509
mmiller@parkplacetech.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8711279

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Dec. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BioGX, a global provider of easy molecular diagnostic solutions since 2007, announced the Ex-US commercial release of its portable pixl qPCR real-time PCR platform for use with BioGX CE-IVD marked assays, enabling global access and complementing the recent US FDA EUA expanded use of Xfree COVID-19 Direct RT-PCR on the pixl.

The pixl instrument is a benchtop 4-channel, 16-well, RT-PCR instrument that supports rapid turnaround times for batches of up to 16 samples, with integrated results interpretation on a device with the compact footprint of a touchpad.

“pixl, combined with our unique Xfree chemistry, offers a low-cost direct-sample-to-answer PCR solution on a portable, compact device. pixl will provide broader access to clinical laboratories for decentralized PCR testing, enabling faster, better, low-cost near-patient molecular diagnostics,” said Shazi Iqbal, Ph.D., CEO of BioGX.

This platform was previously CE-IVD marked and can be used with the following BioGX CE-IVD marked assays:

• Xfree COVID-19 (N1-gene) Direct RT-PCR
• Xfree COVID-19 (N1/RdRp), Flu A, Flu B
• Xfree Group A Streptococcus

Starting January 2023, BioGX will make additional syndromic tests available on the pixl platform from its large menu of lyophilized multiplex assays, including the Research Use Only (RUO) Direct-Sample assays: Xfree Human Monkeypox (hMPXV), Xfree HSV1/HSV2/VZV and Xfree Treponema pallidum (Syphilis). The Xfree assay format is compatible with most commonly used transport/collection media types and can be validated with a wide variety of patient sample collections.

Additional information can be requested by contacting BioGX at Ph: +1.205.250.8055 or info@biogx.com.

About BioGX

BioGX is a leading global provider of lyophilized real-time PCR reagents for molecular diagnostics. BioGX, Inc., headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and Dallas, TX, and its wholly owned subsidiary BioGX B.V., based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, (collectively “BioGX”), operates in a cGMP compliant environment certified to ISO 13485 medical device development and manufacturing standards. The proprietary Sample-Ready technology is at the core of all product offerings for Clinical, Food Safety, Pharma QC and Water Quality molecular testing. BioGX’s 60+ multiplex real-time PCR products are marketed and sold in several countries through its Global Distribution Network.

For more information on BioGX, please visit BioGX.com.

Sample-Ready, Just Add Water, Xfree and pixl are trademarks of BioGX, Inc.

Contact Information:
Mohammed Merchant
Sr. Director, Marketing
marketing@biogx.com
(205) 250-8055

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GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8711256