Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Clearstone Central Laboratories, a global provider of central lab services for late-stage clinical trials. The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close 2Q11. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The acquisition provides LabCorp with a global network of central labs and Clearstone’s clinical trials management system, APOLLO CLPM, which provides realtime access to global data, chain of custody, automated sample stability monitoring, and consistency across all lab sites. The combined company will have the largest available biomarker assay portfolio with globally harmonized and testing platforms in areas such as pharmacogenomics, microbiology, immunohistochemistry, allergy testing, cytogenetics and flow cytometry.

“This acquisition fully combines the complementary strengths of the Clearstone and LabCorp clinical trials businesses to support drug development,” said David P. King, chairman and chief executive officer of LabCorp. “This transaction is an important milestone as it extends our global footprint and service capabilities in key geographies such as Asia Pacific, and advances the company’s companion diagnostics and personalized medicine strategy.”