Private equity firm Ampersand Capital Partners will invest in vaccine and infectious disease contractor P95 BV in a deal designed to expand CROs offering.
The investment – described as a “majority recapitalization” - will support the growth of P95's core business and fund the expansion of its clinical research organization (CRO) services supporting the vaccine and infectious disease end-markets according to Ampersand.
Eric Lev, general partner at Ampersand said "P95 is another great fit in Ampersand's strategy of supporting pharma services companies with leadership positions based on differentiated scientific expertise.
“We believe P95 is poised for continued growth due to its unique service offering, global footprint, and broad customer base spanning the entire vaccine ecosystem.”
P95 was founded in 2011 with the aim of providing late stage observational and clinical studies, pharmacovigilance services, literature reviews, and related consulting to drug firms working in the infectious disease and vaccine development space.
The firm is headquartered in Belgium but has offices in the Netherlands, Colombia, and Thailand. On its website it lists GSK, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and the World Health Organization (WHO) among its clients.
Founder and CEO Thomas Verstraeten said "P95 is excited to have the support of Ampersand as we pursue our vision to be the world's favorite global research partner in support of vaccine and infectious disease therapeutic development and use.
“We believe Ampersand's resources and expertise will enable our team to accelerate growth while expanding the scope and depth of clinical support services we provide to vaccine stakeholders across the globe. This will help fulfil our purpose to bring better health for everybody, everywhere."
As part of the transaction, P95 will appoint Benoit Bouche, ex-president and CEO of Ampersand portfolio company Nexelis, as chairman.
Bouche cited P95’s capacity for observational drug research as a foundation for expansion.
“As observational studies play an increasingly critical role in vaccine development, Thomas and his team have established P95 as a leader in this field. Together, we see substantial opportunity for development of the core epidemiology offering and expansion into complementary CRO offerings for vaccine and infectious disease clients."
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