MPI acquires Jasper Research and Development

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, October 30, 2014

MPI Research of Mattawan is continuing in its pursuit to the be a "one-stop resource" for drug makers looking for better ways to develop and test their products.

In June of 2013, MPI Research partnered with two companies that came with the experience and high-tech equipment to accelerate drug discovery and development. Groundbreaking for the new Translational Imaging Center with its cyclotron and specialized services took place September 2013 and it is scheduled to open in the spring of 2015.

Now, MPI has acquired Jasper Clinical Research & Development, Inc, known for its wide range of services connected with early-stage drug studies.

The company says "both initiatives – the Translational Imaging Center and Jasper Clinic – will provide biopharmaceutical companies with the opportunity to move their drugs and devices more efficiently along the development pathway."

Jasper Clinic has experience in providing research results on what drugs do to the body, what happens to the drugs as they move through the body, including and how they are metabolized and excreted. It has studied how certain genetics differences cause drugs to metabolize in different ways. And the clinic has experience with biomarkers, a substance introduced into an organism as a means to examine organ function or other aspects of health.

"This is a unique and exciting opportunity for us to become part of a contract research organization that truly offers bench to bedside services," says Dean Knuth, founder of Jasper Clinic.

The acquisition includes Jasper Clinic's 50-bed clinical trial unit. The three-story, 25,000-square-foot clinic is located on the downtown Kalamazoo campus of Bronson Hospital, and is physically connected to Bronson's Level 1 trauma center.

Jasper Clinic has a long history, beginning when it was constructed in 1984 and used as a testing unit for Phase 1 clinical trials for the Upjohn Co. When Pfizer Inc. and Pharmacia Corp. merged in April 2003, it became an independent operation known as Jasper Clinic.

Many of the more than 80 staff members of Jasper Clinic have been with them throughout the various organizational changes. They will now become MPI Research employees.

The acquisition of Jasper Clinic gives MPI the opportunity to further strengthen its collaborative relationships with other life science organizations located in the immediate vicinity: Bronson Methodist Hospital and the new Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, says MPI Research Chairman and CEO William U. Parfet.

"The addition of the Jasper Clinic is an important step toward making MPI Research the leading 'one-stop' resource for the early drug development community. From candidate selection in discovery, through preclinical safety assessment, proof-of-distribution imaging studies, and now, clinical trials, we can offer the full continuum of lead to proof-of-concept services for new drug candidates," says Parfet.

Source: MPI Research