Deal is Edgemont’s 21st clinical research site company transaction

NEW YORK & TAMPA, Fla.–Edgemont Partners, a leading independent healthcare investment banking firm, announced that it served as exclusive financial advisor to Meridien Research Group, a portfolio company of Celerity Partners, Balance Point Capital and First New England Capital, in its sale to Avego Healthcare Capital. The transaction closed on April 16, 2018 and was led by David Blume, Managing Director, Patrick Bradley, Vice President, Somon Nader, Associate and Dan Smallegan, Analyst. The sale of Meridien Research is the 21st clinical research site company transaction closed by Edgemont.

Meridien Research, a leading multi-specialty clinical research site company operating six sites in Florida, focuses on conducting Phase I-IV inpatient and outpatient clinical trials across more than 50 indications. The transaction is the third clinical research deal closed by Edgemont this year, and the seventh in the past nine months. Edgemont advised Evolution Research Group (ERG) in its acquisition of Neuropsychiatric Research Group and Wake Research in its sale to M3, Inc. earlier this year, and in the second half of 2017, advised on ERG’s acquisitions of Brain Matters Research and Endeavor Clinical Trials, as well as represented CRISOR and NHCR in their merger to form Velocity Clinical Research.

“The pace of consolidation is accelerating in the highly fragmented clinical research site services market. Strategic and financial buyers are seeking to acquire leading companies in the industry, particularly those with strong clinical and therapeutic expertise such as Meridien Research. These acquirers are seeking to capitalize on benefits of scale for site services, given evolving clinical trials business dynamics and in order to address the acute challenges of subject recruitment and increased operational demands placed on sites by sponsors and CROs,” said Blume.

Founded in 2000, Meridien Research conducts early and late stage clinical research studies for global and mid-sized pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors, as well as leading contract research organizations (CROs), in its six privately-owned clinical trial facilities located in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Maitland, Spring Hill, Bradenton and Lakeland, Florida. The Company is a leading research site services company specializing in a broad range of therapeutic areas, including central nervous system, mental health, neurology, and metabolic and endocrine disorders.

About Meridien Research

Meridien Research has been offering medical research to residents of Central Florida (specifically the Tampa Bay area) since 2000. Meridien Research’s mission is to provide consistent, high-quality clinical research in a professional, ethical and timely manner. Meridien has conducted clinical trials across a wide range of therapeutic areas in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and contract research industries. Meridien Research’s investigators are board certified and specialists in endocrinology, dermatology, internal medicine, cardiology, central nervous system disorders and men’s and women’s health. Learn more at www.meridienresearch.net.

About Edgemont Partners

Edgemont Partners is a leading independent investment banking firm focused on the mergers and acquisitions advisory and financing needs of healthcare companies. Edgemont’s deep healthcare industry knowledge and extensive transaction expertise supports the firm’s unsurpassed ability to address healthcare companies’ strategic advisory (M&A) and financing needs with great success. Learn more at www.edgemontcapital.com.

For more information on Edgemont Partners and its pharmaceutical services industry expertise contact David Blume at +1 (212) 867-8937.

Investment banking services are provided by Edgemont Partners, LP, a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC.