Acquisition of MedPharmics gives Velocity access to African American and Native American patient populations.
London, UK – Global Healthcare Opportunities, or GHO Capital Partners LLP, the European specialist investor in global healthcare, acknowledges the announcement from its portfolio company Velocity Clinical, regarding the acquisition of MedPharmics.
Velocity Clinical Research (“Velocity”), the leading integrated research site organisation, today announced that it has acquired MedPharmics, a multi-site company based in the US. The acquisition brings Velocity’s total number of locations to 40 sites across 19 US states and Europe.
With this acquisition, Velocity will add just over 100 employees of diversified backgrounds to the existing headcount of 750. The additional eight sites give Velocity recruitment capabilities in five new US states, spanning from the Southeast to Southwest, and access to patients from diverse groups, including African Americans & Native Americans – a critical challenge in clinical research.
Dr. Paul Evans, Chief Executive and President of Velocity said, “We know that Sponsors and clinical research organisations (CROs) need a diverse mix of patients to take part in clinical research. Acquiring MedPharmics was a no-brainer. It has a proven track record for reaching patient populations that are typically difficult to gain access to – in particular from Native American and African American communities.”
MedPharmics was established in 2012 in Metairie, Louisiana, as a standalone research site. Founded by Dr. Robert Jeanfreau, Medical Director, and Andrea Jeanfreau, Chief Executive, it has grown to be a multi-site company with eight dedicated research facilities across Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, New Mexico and Louisiana. Both directors will stay with Velocity post sale.
Andrea Jeanfreau, CEO of MedPharmics said, “MedPharmics has a rich history in recruiting people to clinical trials from the most hard-to-reach communities. We are also proud to be leaders in women’s health studies and will expand Velocity’s overall expertise in this area. The integration with Velocity will increase therapeutic capabilities at the sites and help employees deliver the highest level of patient care and data collection. I’m personally looking forward to staying on with the company post acquisition to support this growth.”
Velocity was acquired in April 2021 by private equity firm GHO Capital, when it had 14 sites in the US, and has grown rapidly since then. All sites are wholly owned and fully integrated by a common technology stack and management infrastructure, giving them the support they need to deliver high quality studies faster and at scale.
Evans added, “The clinical trials industry is rapidly evolving. The landscape is traditionally fragmented with clinical research being carried out as a side business to clinical practitioners’ day jobs. The rise of more dedicated research facilities and consolidation within that space, signals a maturing market, which can only be a good thing for speeding up drug development.”
Velocity has a pipeline of deals to significantly expand its US and European network of sites by the end of 2022. Its fully integrated model is the first and largest of its kind, which allows for superior patient enrollment and consistent, high-quality data delivery. As a result, CROs and big pharmaceutical companies can benefit from simplified access to international clinical research across primary and specialty care areas.
Notes to editors:
A full list of Velocity’s sites can be found on its website.