ERT acquires invivodata Inc

PRESS RELEASE

ERT, a privately held health technology company in Pittsburgh, Monday announced the acquisition of invivodata inc., which develops electronic patient-reported data solutions for biopharmaceutical companies at its tech center in Scotts Valley.
The price was undisclosed.
"We took advantage of a growing market and it resulted in a good deal for our investors," said Doug Engfer, invivodata president and chief operating officer and a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in the Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia area.
His company reported record growth in 2011, stemming from the addition of more than 160 clinical projects, and has seen three consecutive years of growth in bookings, revenue and profitability.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, invivodata has 160 employees there and six employees in Scotts Valley doing technology platform development, according to Engfer.
He said the Scotts Valley office will remain open.
"It gives us access to smart technology talent here," he said, "complement talent we're able to find in Pittsburgh."
Dr. Jeffrey Litwin, ERT's chief executive officer, said ERT welcomed invivodata's team of scientists and technology experts.
The deal was financed by Genstar Capital LLC, a private equity firm in San Francisco, which acquired ERT last week for $8 per share in a transaction valued at approximately $400 million.
"We're evaluating additional acquisitions," said Engfer, adding that Genstar has "ample" resources.
He said business took off in the beginning of 2010.
"We did a lot of work with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to advance our work to collect patient data in pharmaceutical clinical trials," he said.
Engfer recalls how invivodata started with "four of us on day one in a windowless office in Pittsburgh."
The technology was spun out of the University of Pittsburgh, where invivodata co-founder Saul Shiffman directs the Smoking Research Group.
Engfer thanked his Scotts Valley landlord, Toeniskoetter, for giving the startup rent-free space for the first six months.
The company had a dozen employees in Scotts Valley before the financial department moved east.
ERT has specialized in safety analysis of electrocardiogram data and five years ago launched a new product line for patient-reported outcomes.
S&P left ERT's rating at B, with a positive outlook, adding, "Our view that ERT has a 'highly leveraged' financial risk profile considers adjusted leverage that we expect to remain above 5x for the next year."