Viking backs Poland’s Humaneva, eyes US investments
Private equity firm Viking Global Investors has bought a minority stake in Poland-based CRO and trial tech firm Humaneva.
The investment saw Viking pay $50 million for a minority shareholding in the Warsaw contractor. The agreement also provides Viking with a one-year option to invest another $50 million to increase its holding.
Humaneva said the money will allow it to advance its long-term growth strategy, which combines M&A initiatives, organic market consolidation, and cutting-edge technological integration.
CEO Tomek Dabrowski said: “The clinical trials market is undergoing rapid transformation driven by global consolidation and innovative business models. Partnering with Viking is a strategic milestone for us.
“Viking’s unique blend of hedge fund and private equity expertise, coupled with their long-term, value-building perspective, aligns perfectly.”
Dabrowski specified the US as a focus, explaining, “The United States accounts for nearly 80% of all R&D expenditures in the clinical trials market. Strengthening our presence, especially in the US, will significantly expand our scale and capabilities in the coming years.”
The firm also said it plans to strengthen its proprietary technology offerings, focusing on eSource solutions, data integration, and analytics, with “the goal of broadening access to clinical research as a care option worldwide.”
Structure
Humaneva operates three separate units: clinical trial site management organization Pratia; oncology-focused contract research organization Kapadi; and trial-tech developer Hyggio.
Kapadi was built through the combination of the US-based cancer contractor OncoBay and Clinscience in January 2023.
Humaneva split from Poland-based drug distributor Neuca in 2023. According to the latter firm’s most recent annual report, the business brought in revenue of PLN 404 million (US$105 million), which is twice as much as it generated in 2022.
In addition, Neuca reported that its SMO and CRO businesses ended 2023 with a backlog – roughly equivalent to anticipated service revenue from work not yet completed or performed undersigned contracts - of PLN 1 billion, which was up 5.5% on the prior quarter.
DepositPhotos/SergPoznanskiy