M3 Buys Australia's Ekas

Pharma specialist M3 Global Research has announced the acquisition of Sydney, Australia-based fieldwork firm Ekas Marketing.

The acquiring firm is part of the M3 Group, publicly traded company as M3 Inc. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which operates in the US, Asia and Europe and counts more than six million physician members globally via web sites including mdlinx.com, m3.com, doctors.net.uk and m3india. In addition to MR, the Group's services also include medical education, ethical drug promotion, clinical development, job recruitment, and clinic appointment services. M3 has offices in Japan, UK, France, Germany, Spain, USA, Sweden, China, South Korea, and India.

Ekas, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year and whose tagline is 'We are Australians, We know Australians', provides data collection and analysis services for a range of sectors, including b2b and consumer markets but with healthcare strongly represented. It also partners with other firms and individuals to offer a full service package. M3 says the acquired firm's ISO certified panel further strengthens its own proprietary healthcare panel, described as the world's largest; and that the buy - its eighth MR business and its first in the ANZ region - further consolidates its APAC base following the successful onboarding of healthcare panels firm m-panels in 2020.

Ekas is led by brothers Matthew and Jaxon Thomas. MD Matthew comments: 'We're excited about the opportunities that this investment represents for the business and for our clients. We are fiercely proud of our heritage and company culture and are looking forward to seeing in the next chapter in Ekas's future supported by M3's commitment to innovation in market research technologies and panel growth'.

'We're delighted to welcome Ekas to the M3 family' says M3 Global Research CEO Anton Richter. 'Their market-leading position and strong provenance in healthcare, combined with local expert knowledge is synonymous with M3's global proposition, and we look forward to the opportunities a truly global presence will present to our client base. Since the acquisition of QQFS in 2017, and m360 Research in 2020 our growth has been unparalleled, and we anticipate that Ekas's contributions will only magnify our continued aspirations for 2022 and beyond'.

Web sites: www.m3global.com and www.ekas.com.au .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.