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The two French companies will join forces with BioClever, a Spanish CRO and Henko portfolio company, to offer a complete and innovative international clinical research solution. In addition, Henko will support the international expansion of the newly created platform with new investments in major European markets.
Madrid, 4 May 2023.
Henko Partners, an Iberian private equity firm, has announced its investment in PopsiCube and MissionTEC, two French Contract Research Organisations ("CROs").
With a track record of successful projects in diverse therapeutic areas such as oncology, rare diseases and cardiovascular diseases, PopsiCube has built a solid reputation as a reliable and experienced CRO. Through its subsidiary MissionTEC, the company has also developed innovative strategies for decentralised clinical trials, which have become increasingly important in recent years.
In July 2022, Henko Partners already invested in BioClever, a leading CRO in Spain with strong expertise in biometrics. From these three investments, Henko Partners is building a pan-European CRO that will offer a broad range of clinical trial services to its clients and their patients. Henko Partners will support the companies' international expansion and create a European CRO that offers clients access to transnational services, in addition to continuing to serve national markets. The new European CRO will be able to manage all aspects of clinical trials, from early to late phase studies, including decentralised clinical trials.
With the combination of the three companies, Henko Partners creates a powerful innovation company in clinical research services across Europe. In addition to supporting the current offering of PopsiCube and MissionTEC, this new partnership is expected to generate significant growth opportunities in the coming years. This unique combination of capabilities positions the new organisation as a highly differentiated CRO in the current European context.
The founders and current management team of PopsiCube will continue to lead the company. Henko will provide operational support along with capital to accelerate the business plan.
"This is an exciting opportunity for us," said Fabrice Beauchêne, CEO of PopsiCube. "Henko's expertise and resources will allow us to enhance our service offering while still providing our customers with the same reliable quality they know."
"PopsiCube and MissionTEC have established strong reputations as leaders in their respective fields," said Lars Becker, partner at Henko. "We are delighted to help them grow their business by providing support and resources.
The partnership between Henko Partners, PopsiCube, MissionTEC and BioClever is a major step towards creating an end-to-end solution for the European life sciences sector. This new project puts the companies in an ideal position to take advantage of the vast growth opportunities present in the CRO sector across Europe.
After investing in Spain and France with these three companies, Henko Partners intends to continue investing in CROs across Europe to form a leading company focused on innovative and high quality clinical research services.
In this transaction, Henko Partners was advised by Bird&Bird and Oderis, respectively, on the legal and financial aspects of the transaction. PopsiCube and MissionTEC were advised by Fiducial Sofiral.
About PopsiCube:
PopsiCube is a France-based contract research organisation (CRO) offering comprehensive clinical trial services. The company has nearly 20 years of experience in providing efficient and cost-effective clinical research services to clients in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries. PopsiCube's team of experts provides study design, site selection, regulatory affairs, project management, monitoring and data management services.
About MissionTEC:
MissionTEC is a leading clinical research organisation specialising in the provision of clinical research nursing services and support to research sites. The company has a strong presence in Europe, with an extensive network of experienced and highly trained clinical research nurses providing innovative solutions for clinical research studies. MissionTEC's services include, among others, home health care services, patient recruitment and retention support, study drug administration or sample collection.
About BioClever:
BioClever is a Spanish CRO offering a global research service, from project design to publication of results. Services cover design, execution, monitoring and customised management of clinical trials and observational studies. Based in Barcelona, and founded in 2005 by Jordi Cantoni and Mireia Bonet, BioClever has a portfolio of first-rate clients and credentials and publications in clinical research of reference in Spain in recent years.
