Qualitest buys Israel-based Comply to gain edge in pharma software testing

Qualitest Ltd., an independent software testing company, said Wednesday it has acquired Israel-based Comply, a provider of software testing services to the pharma and digital health market. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal will add 83 of Comply’s employees to the Qualitest team and will add Teva, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, GE Medical and AbbVie to Qualitest’s list of  clients, Petah-Tikva, Israel-based Qualitest said in a statement.

Following the acquisition, Teva will become one of Qualitest’s leading pharmaceutical accounts globally, the statement said.

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Founded in 2005, Comply provides quality assurance services for web, cloud and mobile applications related to digital health products. The company has focused on the validation of computerized systems, including enterprise IT and laboratory systems, as well as validation of IT infrastructure, such as information security and disaster recovery plans.

Norm Merritt, the CEO of software testing firm Qualitest, in Tel Aviv, February 2, 2020 (Shoshanna Solomon/Times of Israel)

“We’ve had our eyes on Comply for a while due to its reputation as a leader in providing software testing services to the growing pharma tech market,” said Norm Merritt, Qualitest CEO. “We see a lot of potential in the pharma industry, and by integrating Comply’s expertise we can expand Qualitest’s footprint in this hot-growth area.”

Gai Anbar, founder and CEO of Comply, said joining Qualitest will enable the company to take its testing services worldwide.

Merritt, the CEO of Qualitest, said last year in an interview that the firm hopes to grow sales fivefold within five years, through organic growth and via acquisitions.

This is the second acquisition by the firm this year: in February, the company said it was buying QA InfoTech, an Indian quality assurance firm.

In December 2019, Qualitest said it acquired Israel-based artificial intelligence and machine learning company AlgoTrace for an undisclosed amount.

The firm has operations in Israel, the US, UK, and Romania, and serves over 250 blue-chip customers worldwide. International private equity group Bridgepoint Advisers Ltd. in 2019 acquired a controlling stake in Qualitest for $420 million from Marlin Equity Partners.