Boston, MA, September 3, 2021 – WorldCare Clinical (“WCC”), a portfolio company of DFW Capital Partners and a global imaging core lab, has acquired New York-based Digital Angiography Reading Center (“DARC)”, the world’s leading ophthalmology imaging core lab. Founded in 1998 by Dr. Jason Slakter and Jeffrey Schneebaum, DARC has provided retinal imaging evaluation services for more than 100 studies involving sites in 70 countries.
DARC’s study experience includes Age Related Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy, Branch and Central Vein Occlusion, Choroidal Melanoma, Uveitis, PCV, and Retinitis Pigmentosa, among others. Having read and analyzed more than 1.5 million ocular images in its 23-year history, DARC offers trial design and reading expertise across multiple modalities used in ophthalmology studies.
“Dr. Slakter and the DARC staff have unparalleled experience in clinical trials for evaluation of ocular safety and therapeutics,” stated Aaron Timm, Chief Executive Officer at WCC. Timm continued, “We look forward to working with the entire DARC team to leverage WCC’s global platform to provide scientific expertise and operational excellence to assist sponsors worldwide in informing their crucial development decisions.”
Dr. Jason Slakter, medical director of DARC, added, “We are excited to be joining such a high-quality organization that is an ideal match for DARC’s values and aspirations. The combination with WorldCare Clinical will allow us to expand the services we offer sponsors to assist in the development of important new ophthalmic therapies as well as further the understanding of potential ocular toxicities associated with systemic therapeutic agents undergoing clinical evaluation.”
WCC is actively seeking additional acquisition and partnership opportunities with imaging core labs and other independent blinded central review companies.
About WorldCare Clinical
WorldCare Clinical is a global imaging CRO that employs scientific expertise, innovative technology, and operational excellence to maximize the precision and accuracy of blinded independent central review of Phase I – IV clinical trial data. The company has worked with thousands of sites in more than 70 countries. Originally founded in 1992 by the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Radiology, WorldCare continues to maintain a strategic relationship with the Harvard Hospital System as well as other leading academic institutions. Since its founding in 1992, WorldCare Clinical has grown both organically and through strategic combinations with leading clinical research companies.
About DFW Capital Partners
DFW is a private equity investment firm focused on lower-middle market companies. The firm concentrates on service companies, with an emphasis on healthcare and outsourced business and industrial support services. DFW is backed by both institutional and high net worth individual investors and has established a more than 20-year track record of success in building companies. DFW is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey.