Water Street Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, has invested in CCBR-SYNARC.
Comprised of two businesses that specialise in outsourced clinical services, CCBR-SYNARC expands Water Street’s global presence in the pharmaceutical services sector. It also marks the healthcare firm’s first investment from its new fund, Water Street Healthcare Partners III, which it closed last year after receiving USD750m of investor commitments in less than eight weeks.
CCBR-SYNARC is a provider of clinical services to the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The company’s SYNARC business, based in Newark, California, specialises in imaging services, consultation and analysis to track progress throughout a clinical trial’s life cycle. Its CCBR business, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, recruits patients from all over the world, and conducts and manages clinical trials in its dedicated clinical centres. Together, the businesses employ more than 500 doctors, nurses and technicians who are located in 29 research centres across Asia, Europe and The Americas. They currently focus their expertise in the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and neurological therapies.
“Water Street’s team has consistently demonstrated to us a deep understanding of our businesses since it first approached us about potential ways to work together several years ago,” says Dr Claus Christiansen, founder and chairman, CCBR-SYNARC. “When we reached a point in our development in which we were ready to expand our capabilities and services, we knew Water Street was our ideal partner. Its experience in the pharmaceutical sector, business development expertise and extensive industry relationships will provide our businesses with the intellectual capital and resources to achieve long-term growth and success.”
“Recruiting patients to participate in clinical trials can be a significant pain point for pharmaceutical companies and can cause costly delays in their drug development processes,” says Al Heller, an operating partner with Water Street who has more than 30 years of pharmaceutical experience. “CCBR-SYNARC stands out for its proven ability to both quickly recruit patients from targeted geographies and efficiently analyse images to support customers while increasing their clinical trial success rates.”
CCBR-SYNARC expands Water Street’s group of companies specialising in healthcare products and services to 12. The firm is also an investor in AAIPharma Services, a provider of pharmaceutical product development services. It sold its oral health pharmaceutical company, OraPharma, to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International last year. Since its founding in 2005, Water Street has completed 39 transactions to create and grow a diverse group of healthcare companies.
