Thomson Acquires Centre for Medicines Research International

STAMFORD, Conn. and LONDON, April 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Thomson Corporation Toronto today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Centre for Medicines Research International (CMR), the foremost provider of R&D performance metrics to the global pharmaceutical industry. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

CMR International, based in Epsom in the United Kingdom, is the world leader in global R&D performance measurement. It works with all the leading pharmaceutical companies to assess R&D productivity, and provide insights into industry trends that are used to strengthen the planning and effectiveness of R&D.

"CMR's strong customer relationships, expertise and service offerings across the pharma industry will help Thomson better serve our customers and improve their drug development processes," said Robert Cullen, president and chief executive officer, Thomson Scientific & Healthcare. "CMR is highly respected. It will be an excellent fit with Thomson Pharma, an information solution that provides unique capabilities to the pharmaceutical industry."

Separately, the CMR International Institute for Regulatory Science serves the pharmaceutical and biotech markets by addressing regulatory affairs and their scientific basis through an independent advisory board of regulatory experts. The "Institute" will continue to be supported in its current manner.

CMR's leadership, including founder Professor Stuart Walker and CEO Peter Joshua, as well as the company's employees, will become part of Thomson Scientific.

"Thomson is an exceptional organization that shares our passion for building long-term customer relationships," said Stuart Walker, President and Founder, CMR International. "Thomson is able to invest to expand CMR's product offerings and consulting services and enable us to reach smaller pharma/biotechs and CROs, who are also seeking to improve their R&D productivity."

"Together, we will enhance our customers' ability to make faster and better informed decisions," added Mr. Cullen.

The Thomson Corporation

The Thomson Corporation (http://www.thomson.com/), with 2005 revenues of $8.70 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson has approximately 40,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges Toronto.