Singapore: Australian CRO, Clinical Network Services (CNS), has acquired the business assets of its erstwhile New Zealand partner BELTAS, a CRO based in Auckland. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition of BELTAS' business officially completed at the end of 2012 with BELTAS contracts and all clinical staff transferring to CNS. BELTAS will continue to provide GCP training in New Zealand.

Mr. Russell Neal, Managing Director of CNS commented, "2012 has been a tremendous year for CNS and has seen us grow significantly over the last 12 months, expand our regional CRA base so we can better service local sites in Perth and Melbourne as well as further bed down our BioDesk services. This acquisition continues our goal of widening our capabilities across Australia and New Zealand and by bringing together these two highly skilled clinical teams with years of collective experience we are able to offer our clients a truly regional solution.