Quotient Clinical, a provider of outsourced, early stage drug development services to the pharmaceutical industry, has been acquired from the Quotient Bioresearch Group by Bridgepoint Development Capital for an undisclosed sum.

Employing over 200 people, Quotient Clinical has developed a platform which offers an integrated approach to formulation development, “real-time” drug product manufacturing and clinical testing.  Using this platform has been proven to significantly reduce the time and cost of the early stage drug development process. 

The company serves a global customer base comprising a range of top tier pharmaceutical companies through to small-medium sized biotech organisations. More than three quarters of its revenues are derived from customers based in the USA or mainland Europe. It has two operational facilities in the UK. The principal site in Nottingham, has a certified 85 bed clinical pharmacology unit with an integrated drug manufacturing facility employing formulation chemists, and clinical staff including nurses and doctors. The second facility in Edinburgh houses the companies’ Biometrics function responsible for the analysis and reporting of clinical trial data. 

The outsourced drug development market is currently valued at $30 billion and is forecast to grow at up to 6% p.a. and is characterised by a focus on speed to market to maximise value from a drug’s period under patent. The addressable market for Quotient’s services derives from its so called ‘Translational Pharmaceutics’ platform is conservatively estimated to be worth over $400 million pa. 

Quotient Clinical Chief Executive Officer Mark Egerton said: “We are very excited at the pace with which our platform is being adopted in the marketplace. Working with Bridgepoint Development Capital will now provide the support to catalyse the next phase of our growth and evolution. Their experience in helping portfolio companies to scale will be invaluable as we endeavour to grow our business and maintain the high levels of customer satisfaction that we currently enjoy”.  

Alan Payne, partner at Bridgepoint Development Capital, said: “Quotient Clinical serves a substantial and growing market and there is significant opportunity to increase market penetration thanks to its combination of unique service offering, strong regulatory governance and a talented management team.” 

Quotient Clinical is currently part of Quotient Group which is disposing of the business and represents a primary management buyout. The transaction is subject to standard regulatory clearances. 

Debt finance for the transaction was provided by HSBC.  Advisers for Bridgepoint included: Ernst & Young (M&A, Debt Advisory and Financial), Travers Smith (legal) and LEK (market).

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