US life sciences consultancy Insight Strategy Advisors acquired
Insight Strategy Advisors, a US-based management consulting firm for the life sciences industry, has been acquired by Precision Medicine Group. The deal sees a team of around 50 consultants in the US (New York and Philadelphia) and Europe (Geneva) integrated into Precision’s Value & Health arm.
As the US health industry continues to experience a period of uncertain change, M&A activity in the pharmaceuticals industry recently hit $2.4 trillion in value. As clients look to gain insight into surviving and prospering, among an unpredictable economic environment, the consulting industry finds itself preparing for a boost to demand. Most recently, this had seen Navigant acquire US life sciences consultancy Quorum, but now, Precision Value & Health has added to this upturn in activity with the acquisition of Insight Strategy Advisors, for an undisclosed fee.
Founded in 2002 by Harry Schiavi, President and CEO, and Stephen Reid, Managing Partner, New York-based Insight Strategy Advisors (ISA) is a market access strategy consulting firm specialising in healthcare and the life sciences. ISA places particular emphasis on developing payer insights into the clinical and economic value of the pharmaceutical industry, and addresses the most difficult value demonstration, pricing, reimbursement, and distribution problems facing its clients. Over its 15-year operating history, ISA has prospered into a global firm with a consistent track record of growth and long-tenured client relationships.
Precision Value & Health, a part of the Precision Medicine Group, is comprised of business units Precision Xtract, Precision for Value, Precision Health Economics, and precisioneffect. The collective represents a unique set of complementary services working in concert to help pharmaceutical and life sciences clients establish the clinical, economic, and humanistic value of innovative therapies to payers, healthcare professionals, and patients. The acquisition will see ISA join Precision Xtract, enhancing the wing’s existing strengths in market access strategy, while expanding expertise in quantitative pricing research, distribution, and contracting strategy, providing Precision Value & Health with the opportunity to further add to its broad cross-section of experts, and bolster its holistic service for clients, aimed at guiding customers toward clinical and commercial success.
Co-founder Harry Schiavi, who joins the Precision Xtract team alongside ISA Executive Vice President, Larry Blandford, and Bruce Leavitt, said, “Those two business factors, combined with how well our guiding principles align culturally, add to our enthusiasm about furthering global market access solutions as part of Precision.”
Fellow founder and Managing Partner, Stephen Reid, who will continue in his present role for ISA with a focus on overall business development, elaborated, “Equiteq built robust demand for our life sciences consulting firm, expertly communicating our value story to potential acquirers, while shepherding us through the partner evaluation process. Matt Hasson was a trusted advisor who helped maximise our valuation and whose dedication and tenacity got us to the finish line with the result that we were looking for.”
Equiteq advise
The sell-side of the deal was advised upon by M&A consultancy Equiteq, with the firm working with ISA to ensure its successful sale to Precision Value & Health. Regarding Equiteq’s role as exclusive advisor, Harry Schiavi stated, “We selected Equiteq as our advisor primarily based on the firm’s strong M&A track record within the consulting industry, as well as its global reach. This proved to be the right decision as their expertise, experience, and guidance were critical to ensuring a successful transaction outcome.”
Matt Hasson, Director of M&A in Equiteq’s New York office, meanwhile remarked, “Harry and Steve have developed ISA into an elite life sciences consultancy with an excellent market reputation, comprehensive market access capabilities, and talented human capital. These attributes, combined with strong industry fundamentals and an effective positioning strategy, engendered substantial interest from the buyer universe. I am thrilled that Equiteq was chosen as ISA’s financial advisor, and that we helped deliver a successful transaction outcome. I wish everyone at the company the best of luck as they embark on a new phase of growth under Precision’s ownership.”
Elsewhere, early M&A activity in 2018 saw Equiteq engineer a deal for human resources training provider Pathway to Your Potential (P2YP) to partner with Mercer Australia. Equiteq counselled P2YP’s founder on the deal.
