Thomson Scientific has acquired a highly specialised pharmaceutical information provider to add R&D benchmarking information and consulting to Thomson Pharma .

Epsom-based Centre for Medicines Research International (CMR) has been acquired for an undisclosed sum.

“Lately there has been an interest by pharmaceutical companies to compare the R&D performance of the industry with their own and that of their close rivals,” said Peter Joshua, CMR VP, of the information it adds to the Pharma portfolio.

CMR collects information directly from the pharmaceutical industry, strips out details of identity and provides in-depth analysis on R&D trends back to the industry.

“The pharmaceutical industry is spending $60bn per annum trying to find new medicine, but in the last 20 years the number of new medicines is actually declining,” Joshua said.

“Pharmaceutical R&D is no longer tied to science, it’s a business decision which needs data,” he said. Increasingly research is carried out by small specialist companies spun out from universities which then need to create business propositions.

The range of business information available through Pharma is expected to compliment the R&D content from CMR.

“This company has relationships with the pharmaceutical companies which we will use to develop Thomson Pharma,” a Thomson spokesperson said.

CMR said being part of Thomson would not dilute the range of information it offered clients, who increasingly ask for a mix of R&D, business and scientific information.