Dive Brief:
- Thermo Fisher Scientific will acquire clinical trial data firm Clario Holdings for $8.9 billion in cash, the companies announced Wednesday. Clario is currently held by a shareholder group led by Astorg and Nordic Capital, Novo Holding and Cinven.
- In addition, Thermo has agreed to pay $125 million in January 2027, and up to $400 million in payments based on the performance of the business in 2026 and 2027.
- Clario integrates clinical trial endpoint data from devices, sites and patients. The company is expected to complement Thermo’s existing clinical research services, and to drive costs out of the drug development process for customers, J.P. Morgan analyst Casey Woodring wrote in a research note.
Dive Insight:
Clario offers services to collect data from clinical outcome assessments, medical imaging, wearables and other systems. The data is used in regulatory, pricing and reimbursement decisions. Clario has supported about 70% of FDA drug approvals over the past decade, according to the announcement.
Clario CEO Chris Fikry said in a statement that he expects Thermo’s scale and relationships with pharma and biotech leaders to fuel expansion of the company’s clinical trial platform.
Clario will become part of Thermo’s Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment after the deal closes. Clario has roughly 4,000 employees, and is expected to generate about $1.25 billion in revenue for the full year 2025.
Thermo expects the deal to be immediately accretive to its adjusted operating margins, and for the transaction to deliver about $175 million in adjusted operating income by year five.
Thermo plans to fund the acquisition using proceeds from debt financing and cash on hand. The deal is expected to close by mid-2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
