Historical Milestones

2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1992 | 1991 | 1985 | 1983

2006

On November 30, 2006, Constella Group acquires Lineberry Research Associates (LRA), a Research Triangle Park, North Carolina-based contract research organization (CRO) with 75 employees. This acquisition supports Constella’s goal of building a regulatory, product development, and medical writing presence in the United States similar to its European operations. It provides both organizations an opportunity to expand the company’s clinical and data management operations within the U.S., and to extend its global clinical and regulatory capabilities.

On March 2, Constella Group acquires Origin Pharmaceuticals Holdings Ltd., a U.K.-based full service, international contract research organization with more than 100 employees that specializes in regulatory affairs, product development and clinical trials services in Europe and North America. This acquisition builds upon Constella’s expertise in U.S.-based clinical trials offerings, including project management, monitoring, data management, and biostatistics. It provides both organizations with an opportunity to build a global platform to provide contract drug and device development services.

2005

On Nov. 2, Constella Group announces that it has won a 10-year, $42.3 million contract with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct a variety of clinical research studies in environmental health. While Constella has conducted numerous clinical studies for a variety of pharmaceutical and government clients, this marks the first time it will provide clinical research for NIEHS, an institute to which Constella has provided a wide range of professional services and solutions for since 1986.

On Oct. 25, Constella Group expands its work into the area of substance abuse prevention with the win of a $25 million contract with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The five-year contract involves information technology and data management support for SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention, which works with states, regions, and communities to develop, implement, and measure the effectiveness of their substance abuse prevention programs.

On Sept. 30, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announces the award of the Policy Dialogue and Implementation (PDI) Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC) and task order 1 to Constella Futures, the international development unit of Constella. The purpose of the contract is to exercise global leadership and provide field level programming. Constella Futures will support improvements to enable the health environment, making it possible for men and women around the world to obtain and use the information and services they need for better health, especially in the areas of reproductive health/family planning, HIV/AIDS, and maternal health. The IQC has a $325 million ceiling and the task order is for $100 million.

On Aug. 9, Constella Group announces that the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative has selected Constella Futures, the international development unit of Constella, to develop a country-specific model to estimate the impact of an AIDS vaccine in middle and low income countries. It will use the model to further refine calculations of the effect of an AIDS vaccine and to provide a tool for in-country advocacy.

On April 25, Constella Futures, the international development unit of Constella, announces an expansion of its portfolio in India with two large contracts: a family planning project from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and an HIV-related project from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The USAID-funded project will help meet a critical need for reproductive and child health services such as increasing the contraceptive prevalence rate and the percentage of women who receive folic acid and iron during pregnancy. Constella Futures will provide counseling to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections. The funding for this project is more than $41 million for five years, including all potential options. The unit will also work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on a $6.3 million advocacy project to prevent the spread of HIV in India, through its India AIDS initiative, Avahan.

Constella expands its corporate vision to enhancing human health around the world, every day. Constella makes this change in its vision statement to account for its international work, expanded expertise and services. The new statement replaces the company’s previous vision of enhancing human health through innovative science, technology, and knowledge solutions.

On Jan. 12, Constella Group acquires Futures Group, an international leader in providing public health and social programs for developing countries. Futures Group focuses on key areas such as HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, maternal and child health, and family planning and reproductive health. Its staff of more than 400 provides a wide range of services and solutions in more than 55 countries, including public health policy development and implementation, social marketing and technical assistance. Futures Group's reputation is well-known among international development organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its counterparts in Europe. The acquisition nearly doubles the size and revenues of Constella and broadens its capabilities to enhance human health around the world.

On Jan. 12, Constella Group secures its first ever institutional equity financing since its founding in 1983. Leading the investment from Charlotte, N.C., is Wachovia Capital Partners with Wakefield Group participating. Constella plans to use the $61 million in equity and debt capital to expand services to its public- and private-sector clients and to grow its market presence across the health-care value chain through acquisitions within the U.S. and abroad.

2004

Constella re-wins a seven-year contract to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Immunization Program. This $21 million contract allows the company to continue to ensure the safety of vaccines through its work on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) contract, which is a collaborative effort of the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration. VAERS has gained national recognition as a critical public health program since the anthrax attacks that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the subsequent smallpox mass immunization. Constella’s involvement on the contract includes monitoring and reporting adverse events nationwide to the CDC and FDA on a daily basis. Constella has played a significant role in monitoring adverse events of flu vaccinations to children, which led to recommendations that the influenza vaccination be added to routine childhood immunizations for children 6-23 months. In addition, Constella has created an emergency preparedness plan for responding to a mass immunization campaign or emergency response effort.

Constella partners with Pearson Government Solutions to win the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) $73 million Contact Center (1-800-CDC-INFO) contract. The new contract marries technology, information, and people as the CDC embarks on integrating its call center and inquiry response operations for all of its programs into this contract. Constella is serving as a primary subcontractor to Pearson and will develop content and outreach materials on critical public health topics, such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and bioterrorism. In addition, Constella will help develop the program's knowledge management system and play an integral role in fielding consumer inquiries that require deep health and clinical domain expertise. This contract win builds upon the unit's health communications and knowledge management expertise and solidifies its role in serving CDC's critical health communications needs.

Constella successfully defends one of its largest contracts, a $38 million procurement with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command's (USAMRMC) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. As part of its work on the contract, Constella will continue to oversee strategic planning of scientific peer review for a number of health-related research topics, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and neurofibromatosis. The company’s work involves receiving and tracking peer review applications throughout the peer review process, recruiting nationally recognized scientists and researchers as reviewers for peer review panels, assigning proposals for review, and preparing summary statements that include the assigned peer reviewers' critiques and peer review panel comments and scores. Since 1995, Constella has managed the receipt and review of more than 25,000 scientific research proposals on behalf of CDMRP. The contract re-win continues to position the company as a premier provider of scientific peer review services.

2003

On Oct. 1, 2003, Constella acquires Resource Solutions, Inc., (RSI), a specialty contract research organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. The new clinical research and informatics business offers pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology companies expanded research and development services in the areas of clinical trials management, data management, statistics, medical writing and information technology. Constella increases its employee base to 675.

On May 1, 2003, ASI announces its name change to Constella Group, Inc. Celebrating 20 years of operation, the company reaches a pivotal point in its history and renames the company to reflect its increasing breadth and depth of services focused on enhancing human health worldwide. Constella works toward one goal—“Enhancing human health through innovative science, technology, and knowledge solutions.”

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2002

In October, ASI wins two contracts totaling $8 million from The Johns Hopkins University Center for Communications Programs (JHU/CCP) to support two global health communications projects sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). ASI is named a JHU/CCP subcontractor on the $25 million "Healthy Russia 2020" contract, a five-year project created to improve the overall health of people in Russia by the year 2020. Johns Hopkins also selects ASI to provide information technology support for Information and Knowledge for Optimal Health, or INFO, a $33 million, five-year international project focused on family planning and reproductive health. These projects expand ASI's recognition as a company dedicated to enhancing the health of people worldwide through the use of innovative science, technology and knowledge solutions.

In September, ASI wins a $23 million, seven-year contract to support the public health initiatives of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) with a wide range of information technology (IT) services and solutions. As the prime contractor, ASI provides leading-edge technology solutions to support the NIOSH Information Technology Support (NITS) program by helping the federal agency fulfill its vision of ensuring safety and health at work for all people through its research and prevention activities. This award continues ASI's long-standing relationship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recognizes the company as a major IT support player in the federal health research sector. To support the contract, ASI opens a 5,000-square-foot office in Morgantown, W.Va., and hires 30 additional technical staff.

In June 2002, ASI forms a joint venture—Origin-ASI, LLC—with Origin Pharmaceutical Services Limited, a privately owned UK contract research organization focused on clinical project management and regulatory affairs. Origin, which operates predominately in Europe, offers an exceptional complementary capability to ASI's core competencies in clinical data management, Oracle ClinicalTM consulting, biostatistics, medical writing and technology. Thus, Origin-ASI offers the clients of both companies a greater depth of clinical trials expertise across the globe.

On April 8, ASI launches its first subsidiary, called MedNetics™ LLC, and hires Lee Evans, former president of the SAS-spinoff iBiomatics, as its president and CEO. This new biosurveillance technology services company is dedicated to helping leverage a wide range of health research data for the world's biopharmaceutical industry.

ASI develops a national HIV/AIDS, STD and TB Information Resource Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ASI's health communications division is providing international support to design, develop and maintain the information resource center under its National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) contract with the CDC, in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.

2001

On Oct. 1, ASI purchases United Information Systems (UIS), Inc., a private technology and health sciences company based in Bethesda, Md. As a result, ASI gains about 150 employees in Maryland and expands its science and technology services and capabilities. Annual revenues jump to more than $40 million.

ASI successfully retains the company's oldest contract with the winning of a new five-year, $7 million statistical support project for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

ASI's Health Communications Division designs and deploys a youth violence prevention program sponsored by the White House Council on Youth Violence and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). President Clinton announces the program Jan. 13 during one of his last weekly radio addresses.

On Sept. 1, ASI begins incubating Expression Analysis, a start-up genetic research company that specializes in processing a sophisticated type of gene analysis technology, called Affymetrix GeneChips®, and analyzing the complex data it generates. This state-of-the-art technology, which is in high demand, is advancing the way genetic researchers study disease states, identify drug targets and profile changes within genes. ASI's President and CEO, Donald Holzworth, takes on temporary role as Expression Analysis' first CEO.

2000

ASI wins major contract with the CDC and FDA to build and manage a nationwide vaccine adverse event reporting system. A key part of ASI’s management of the program involves bringing technological innovation to vaccine safety surveillance, which includes transforming all facets of the program to an e-business operational environment.

1999

ASI forms Joint Venture with Paragon Biomedical, Inc.

ASI moves its Atlanta office to a newly renovated 7,000-square-foot facility.

ASI executes strategic five-year plan for accelerated expansion of human-health service offerings in the commercial marketplace.

1998

ASI opens a new office in Silver Spring, Md. The ribbon cutting for this facility was attended by high level officials from the White House, NIH and the CDC and was conducted by Kate Shindle, Miss America 1998.

ASI wins the largest contract in the company's history, a $33 million Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contract to operate the National AIDS Clearinghouse from an incumbent contractor with a 10-year service record. ASI and CDC renamed this service the National Prevention Information Network (NPIN).

1996

ASI moves its Durham, N.C., headquarters to a new 23,000-square-foot facility in Meridian Business Park.

1995

Donald A. Holzworth becomes sole owner, president and CEO of ASI. ASI develops Health Communications Services.

ASI wins first health communications contract and establishes a health communications practice and office in Bethesda, Md.

1994

ASI begins serving the pharmaceutical industry by providing drug development services in the form of data management and biostatistics.

1992

ASI wins major contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to manage the NASA Headquarters Employee Medical Services Unit.

1991

ASI wins first major contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and begins non-drug related clinical studies, specializing in clinical laboratory performance evaluation studies.

1985

ASI wins first major contract with the National Institutes of Health to provide preclinical animal toxicology study design and analysis expertise to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

1983

Donald A. Holzworth and Steven Seilkop found ASI for the purpose of providing superior, customer-focused, statistical consulting services to public and commercial clients. The company's first office was based in Research Triangle Park. Work first conducted for the Environmental Protection Agency to validate atmospheric models developed to predict acid rain deposition across North America.