NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE:ACN) has completed its acquisition of Octagon Research Solutions, Inc., a provider of clinical and regulatory information management solutions and software for the pharmaceutical industry based in Wayne, Pa. The acquisition was announced on Aug. 2.
The acquisition enhances Accenture's existing clinical services capabilities – including clinical data management, clinical programming and safety case processing, among others – and adds regulatory submission services, thereby extending Accenture’s business process outsourcing capabilities for the pharmaceutical industry. As a result, Accenture can now provide the first comprehensive clinical and regulatory services to pharmaceutical companies globally, helping them get medicines to market more quickly and cost effectively.
“Our pharmaceutical clients around the world are looking for proven clinical and regulatory services that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their drug development business,” said David Boath, North American managing director for Accenture’s Life Sciences industry group. “With Octagon’s deep regulatory expertise and proprietary software – coupled with Accenture’s global delivery network and R&D experience across the in the pharmaceutical industry – we can now offer software-enabled clinical and regulatory services solution from the initial clinical protocol design through to regulatory submission.”
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 249,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$25.5 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2011. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include, without limitation, risks that: the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for the company; the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; the company’s business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company’s services and solutions, and a significant reduction in such demand could materially affect the company’s results of operations; if the company is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company’s business, the utilization rate of the company’s professionals and the company’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; the consulting and outsourcing markets are highly competitive, and the company might not be able to compete effectively; the company’s results of operations (including its net revenues and operating income) and the value of balance-sheet items originally denominated in other currencies could be materially adversely affected by unfavorable fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates or changes to existing currencies; the company could have liability or the company’s reputation could be damaged if the company fails to protect client and company data or information systems as obligated by law or contract or if the company’s information systems are breached; the company’s Global Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in India and the Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks; as a result of the company’s geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue geographic expansion, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; the company’s results of operations could materially suffer if the company is not able to obtain sufficient pricing to enable it to meet its profitability expectations; if the company’s pricing estimates do not accurately anticipate the cost, risk and complexity of the company performing its work or third parties upon which it relies do not meet their commitments, then the company’s contracts could have delivery inefficiencies and be unprofitable; the company’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment, including risks related to governmental budget and debt constraints; the company’s business could be materially adversely affected if it incurs legal liability in connection with providing its services and solutions; the company’s results of operations and ability to grow could be materially negatively affected if the company cannot adapt and expand its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings by new entrants; outsourcing services subject the company to different operational risks than its consulting and systems integration services; the company’s services or solutions could infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company might lose its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others; the company has only a limited ability to protect its intellectual property rights, which are important to the company’s success; the company’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; the company’s alliance relationships may not be successful or may change, which could adversely affect the company’s results of operations; the company may not be successful at identifying, acquiring or integrating other businesses; the company’s profitability could suffer if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful, and the company may not be able to improve its profitability through improvements to cost-management to the degree it has done in the past; many of the company’s contracts include performance payments that link some of its fees to the attainment of performance or business targets and/or require the company to meet specific service levels, which could increase the variability of the company’s revenues and impact its margins; changes in the company’s level of taxes, and audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in the company’s treatment as an Irish company, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s results of operations and financial condition; if the company is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; if the company is unable to collect its receivables or unbilled services, the company’s results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected; the company’s share price and results of operations could fluctuate and be difficult to predict; the company’s results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; the company may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.