Transaction underscores GHO’s strategy of backing category leaders across preclinical and clinical R&D services
- Scientist.com is the market-leading digital platform for outsourced R&D, trusted by the world’s top biopharma companies and thousands of pre-vetted suppliers of scientific services and products.
- GHO’s deep sector knowledge and proven record of scaling life sciences businesses will accelerate Scientist.com’s next phase of global growth.
London, UK – GHO Capital Partners LLP (“GHO”), the specialist investor in global healthcare, today announces it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Scientist.com, the AI-powered R&D orchestration platform that enables pharmaceutical and biotech companies to source and manage outsourced research from a global network of pre-approved suppliers.
The acquisition expands GHO’s portfolio of category-leading companies delivering innovative solutions that improve efficiency, compliance, and impact across healthcare and life sciences. Scientist.com’s sector focus on pharmaceutical R&D services, biotechnology, life science tools, and contract research aligns directly with GHO’s areas of deep expertise. Together, the partnership creates powerful synergies to fuel Scientist.com’s expansion through global reach, strategic partnerships, and selective acquisitions.
Biopharma R&D procurement processes remain fragmented and manual, creating inefficiencies and compliance risks, particularly in highly regulated, complex research and clinical markets. Scientist.com solves this by connecting pharmaceutical and biotech companies to a curated, global network of pre-vetted suppliers on one intelligent platform. At its core is a powerful AI engine that streamlines the entire outsourced research process – from supplier qualification and compliance enforcement to intelligent vendor matching, automated contract drafting, predictive project modelling, and smart negotiation tools – within one seamless platform. Created by scientists for scientists, the platform accelerates high-value R&D while navigating the realities of complex procurement, transforming how organisations source innovation.
Edward de Nor and Stuart Quin, Partners at GHO, said: “Scientist.com is a category-defining platform that transforms how biopharma companies manage R&D procurement, seamlessly integrating software, data, and outsourced services. The alignment between our expertise in pharmaceutical R&D, biotechnology, and life science tools, and Scientist.com’s market leadership, creates a unique opportunity to accelerate its growth. We are excited to partner with the team to expand global adoption and advance innovation, in line with our mission to deliver better, faster, more accessible healthcare.”
Kevin Lustig, PhD, Andy Martin, PhD and Chris Petersen, Founders of Scientist.com, commented: “GHO’s expertise across our key market segments and track record of scaling innovative leaders make them the ideal partner to help us scale globally. Together, we can put outsourced R&D ‘on rails’, delivering shorter timelines, stronger governance, and clearer visibility from concept to clinic.”
Based in Solana Beach, California, Scientist.com is a global leader in life sciences R&D procurement, trusted by the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, hundreds of biotech firms, and thousands of suppliers. The platform provides an end-to-end compliance solution that unifies supplier discovery, bidding, contracting, compliance, and spend analytics within a secure ecosystem. This enables users to achieve double-digit percentage cost savings while cutting project timelines from months to days. With a first-mover advantage and over a decade of growth, Scientist.com is the trusted partner for companies seeking to optimise their external R&D procurement.
Advisors
GHO was advised by Ropes & Gray, ClearView Healthcare Partners, West Monroe, and Deloitte.
Scientist.com was advised by Union Square Advisors and Wilson Sonsini.
