Thermo Fisher Scientific, an American provisioner of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, completed the acquisition of PPD, a global provider of clinical research services, from Hellman & Friedman for $20.9bn. "Pharma and Biotech is our largest and fastest growing end market, and our customers value us as a strategic partner and an industry leader. The acquisition of PPD is a natural extension for Thermo Fisher and will enable us to provide these customers with important clinical research services and partner with them in new and exciting ways as they move a scientific idea to an approved medicine quickly, reliably and cost effectively," Marc N. Casper, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chairman, President and CEO.