- Velocity becomes one of the largest site organisations in Europe in addition to being the largest in the US.
- Adds Oncology to therapeutic capability.
London, UK – Global Healthcare Opportunities, or GHO Capital Partners LLP (“GHO”), the European specialist investor in global healthcare, acknowledges the announcement from its portfolio company Velocity Clinical Research regarding its further expansion in Europe.
Velocity Clinical Research (“Velocity”), the leading multi-specialty clinical sites business, today announces its further expansion in Europe, adding five sites in Poland after acquiring multi-site network KO-MED Centra Kliniczne and two in Germany, having acquired The Pulmonary Research Institute at the LungenClinic Grosshansdorf and KLB Gesundheitsforschung Lübeck.
Velocity’s growth is accelerating across Europe, with 17 locations in the UK, Poland, and Germany. The company is now one of the largest site organisations in Europe in addition to it being the largest sites business in the United States.
Dominic Clavell, European General Manager for Velocity, said, “Our European network is now larger than the size of Velocity’s network when it was sold to GHO Capital. Velocity is building an integrated network of sites that can change the paradigm and we have the size and scale where we can recruit enough patients, either for entire studies or contribute significantly to country targets in Europe. This dramatically speeds up site start-up times, saving considerable time for CROs and Sponsors.”
The acquisition of KO-MED is Velocity’s first foray into Oncology research, which accounts for roughly 40-50% of clinical trials globally. KO-MED has been the leading multi-site network in Poland since 2020, having enrolled over 9,000 patients into clinical research.
Marek Konieczny, MD PhD, President of KO-MED’s Board, said, “I have been involved in clinical research for over 25 years and there are always new challenges which stimulate me to find new approaches. In most cases, the participant of a clinical trial benefits from taking part, which is of great importance, especially in oncological trials. I’ve seen first hand when under my supervision, patients who previously had very little chance of surviving now live longer, enjoying more time with loved ones.
“Being a part of Velocity is a wonderful opportunity to merge capacities with the best clinical trials network in the world. Integration rather than affiliations allows us to unite with common values. In my new role as Vice President Corporate Development (CEE) and Medical Director (CEE) and together with my expertise of building out a site network, I intend to support the development of Velocity in Poland and further in Europe.”
The Pulmonary Research Institute has carried out over 300 studies since opening 25 years ago, leading research in bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis and pulmonary fibrosis. Anne-Marie Kirsten, MD PhD and Henrik Watz, MD PhD both join Velocity as principal investigators (PIs), being leaders in Pulmonary research in Europe.
Dr Kirsten said, “Since the beginning of our career as internal medicine doctors and pneumologists, we realised that only clinical research holds the potential for innovation. The therapeutic progress over the last 15 years in COPD, pulmonary fibrosis and asthma is a major achievement towards an improved quality of life of our patients, which we substantially contributed to.”
Dr Watz added, “With the backbone of Velocity we clearly see the unique opportunity for faster recruitment, use of common resources and infrastructure and the collaboration within a family of experienced and highly professional set of researchers. As doctors, we will be able to focus more on our patients and their needs because administrative tasks will be handled by the common infrastructure backbone Velocity provides.”
KLB Gesundheitsforschung Lübeck is located in the heart of the city of Lübeck, conducting clinical studies for respiratory diseases since 2008.
Andrea Ludwig-Sengpiel, MD PhD managing partner of KLB, commented, “We are undergoing a structural change in our working world. Digitalization, changing demands on employees and their redefined needs are important issues that can be better addressed through integration into a large network. Velocity brings together very experienced and highly professional study sites with comparable standards of quality and scientific work, creating many synergies from which all participants can benefit. This is what makes integration into this network so attractive. We are pleased to be part of an international company.”
The news sites join Velocity’s existing four sites in Germany, one in Poland and five in the U.K., of which three are newly-opened greenfield sites. Velocity has almost 100 locations globally and access to more than 220 principal investigators and one million patients.
Velocity’s sites are fully integrated via a centralised infrastructure and common technology backbone, allowing for superior patient enrolment and consistent, high-quality data delivery. As a result, CROs and biopharma companies can benefit from Faster and simplified access to patients in North America and Europe.