Covance, Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire the eight early phase clinical development sites of Radiant Research, Inc. for approximately $65 million.

“This acquisition will give Covance a significant expansion of clinical pharmacology bed capacity and broaden our access to special patient populations for Phase Ib/IIa clinical studies,” said Joe Herring, Covance chairman and chief executive officer. “Early phase clinical trials continue to be one of the biggest bottlenecks in the development of new medicines. These eight sites will expand Covance’s early clinical service offering and advance our position in delivering proof-of-concept packages that accelerates our clients’ drug development projects.”

The eight sites, which generate approximately $25 million in annual revenue, are located in Austin, TX; Boise, ID; Dallas, TX; Daytona, FL; Gainesville, FL; Honolulu, HI; Portland, OR; and San Diego, CA. Each site has a database of special patient populations for both Phase I and IIa studies. The addition of these sites, including the new, purpose-built 120-bed clinic in Dallas, will bring the company’s total global Phase I/IIa research capacity to more than 500 beds across eleven sites. Covance expects the acquisition to close before the end of the second quarter.