Fast-growing Durham clinical research firm Velocity makes another acquisition

DURHAM – Life science research firm Velocity Clinical Research continues its torrid growth through acquisitions, adding a multi-site firm in Louisiana to its growing national reach with a deal announced early today.

The latest addition is MedPharmics, which operates multiple research sites and has some 100 employees.

Since being acquired itself in April 2021 by private equity firm GHO Capital, Velocity has grown to more than 40 sites. At the time of the GHO Capital deal it had 14.

“All sites are wholly owned and fully integrated by a common technology stack and management infrastructure, giving them the support they need to deliver high quality studies faster and at scale,” Velocity says in explaining the acquisition binge.

Its footprint now includes sites across the US and in Europe.

Financial terms of the deal, which boosts Velocity’s employee headcount to more than 850, were not disclosed.

Velocity Clinical Research CEO Dr. G. Paul Evans .

“Acquiring MedPharmics was a no-brainer,” said Velocity CEO Paul Evans in the announcement. “It has a proven track record for reaching patient populations that are typically difficult to gain access to—in particular from Native American and African American communities.”

MedPharmics, which launched in 2012, operates eight sites in Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, New Mexico and Louisiana. Velocity had not had a presence in those states.

With this acquisition, Velocity will add just over 100 employees of diversified backgrounds to the existing headcount of 750. The additional eight sites give Velocity recruitment capabilities in five new U.S. states, spanning from the Southeast to Southwest, and access to patients from diverse groups, including African Americans & Native Americans—a critical challenge in clinical research.

Durham-based Velocity Clinical expands to Europe with latest acquisition

MedPharmics founders Dr. Robert Jeanfreau, Medical Director, and Andrea Jeanfreau, the top executive, will join Velocity, the companies said.

“MedPharmics has a rich history in recruiting people to clinical trials from the most hard-to-reach communities. We are also proud to be leaders in women’s health studies and will expand Velocity’s overall expertise in this area,” Andrea Jeanfreau. “The integration with Velocity will increase therapeutic capabilities at the sites and help employees deliver the highest level of patient care and data collection. I’m personally looking forward to staying on with the company post acquisition to support this growth.”

Velocity plans more deals “significantly” through the rest of 2022, the company noted.