BREAKING NEWS

We are pleased to announce that Acceleration, LLC was acquired by a Kansas City-area private investment group led by Brent Taylor for an undisclosed amount in a cash and stock transaction.  The acquisition closed on Oct. 30.  Acceleration legally incorporated and will be Acceleration Laboratory Services, Inc. moving forward.  The company will still be doing business as Acceleration.

Acceleration will remain in Lee’s Summit and there are no plans for the company to relocate outside of the Region in the future.  All three principals of Acceleration will be remaining with the company in a leadership and shareholder capacity: Keith Koehler, Director of Marketing & Business Development; Gary Schmitt, Director of Laboratory Services; and Robert Pendland, Director of IT and Data Security.  Brent Taylor will be joining the organization as the General Manger and Director of Finance.  Additionally, Rose Azzaro-Bass will also be remaining as the company’s Director of Quality Assurance.

Acceleration provides analytical chemistry development services and offers specialty manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical industry. The company said most of the testing it performs is related to oncology drugs, which are the fastest-growing segment of drugs being developed. The Missouri Department of Commerce and Industry named Acceleration as one of the fastest-growing companies in the state by awarding it a 2008 Fast Track Award, based on its revenue growth during a three-year period.

The contract research organization market was an $18 billion industry in 2008, up 14 percent from 2007, according to research conducted by Business Insights, and is expected to become a $35 billion industry by 2013.

The report also showed that there are more than 1,100 players in the industry and that the top 10 only accounted for 56.1 percent of the global market.