NCGS is expanding its business by relocating to a new corporate headquarters, bringing $10 million in investment and creating 80 new jobs, with a potential EU acquisition on the horizon.
The CRO is moving its HQ in Charleston, South Carolina, to a new campus about a mile away “because our current HQ can no longer accommodate our growing team,” NCGS founder and CEO Nancy C.G. Snowden told FierceCRO. And the hiring process for those new positions, mostly based at the company’s HQ, has already started.
“We acquired multiple adjacent properties that will allow for continued expansion for a larger and more impactful NCGS headquarters facility to meet the strategic short- and long-term needs and plans as we further evolve,” Snowden said. The team will move into the new location once renovation completes in the spring of 2017.
The CRO invested $10 million to cover the cost of purchasing and renovating the new headquarters, as well as upgrading it with new technology and equipment.
Founded in 1984, the privately held CRO houses about 120 employees at its current headquarters and over 250 across the U.S., with clinical research associates scattered across Europe. It focuses on supporting clinical trials in such areas as oncology, central nervous system, infectious diseases and critical care. It has worked on the approval or expanded approval of 34 drug, biologic and diagnostic products, according to a release.
To further expand its presence, Snowden told FierceCRO that the company is also in discussions with an EU CRO for acquisition, with external funding that NCGS has already secured as part of its short-term strategy.
Although the company’s name was not given at this point, Snowden did say that the acquisition target is also a private company with comparable size to NCGS. That company’s employees, including management, will remain in place, while NCGS’ existing EU staff will be brought under its leadership, said Snowden.
Snowden also said that the company is in talks to collaborate with an Asia-Pacific CRO to complete its global footprint.