PHASTAR Announces Investment by Charterhouse Capital Partners


PHASTAR recently announced an investment made by Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP that will support PHASTAR’s growth in biometrics and geographic expansion. Charterhouse is making its investment in partnership with PHASTAR’s Founder and CEO Kevin Kane, who remains a significant shareholder in the business. Kevin and the existing management team will continue to run, manage, and operate the business on a day-to-day basis.

“PHASTAR’s partnership with Charterhouse is a significant next step in our planned growth strategy,” said Kane. “With a new office opening in China, our global footprint will widen to include the UK, Europe, Africa, the US, and Asia, giving us an opportunity to better serve our clients anywhere in the world.  We are extremely grateful for the support our clients and team members have shown over the past 13 years. We anticipate that support will continue to cement PHASTAR’s position as the partner of choice for pharmaceutical companies in their critical statistical and data science projects in the years ahead.”

As part of the transaction, Dr. Nick Edwards, MD, will become Non-Executive Chair of PHASTAR. Dr. Edwards is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Prescient Healthcare Group. Dr. Edwards brings to PHASTAR wide-ranging industry experience in the medical and pharmaceutical industries as a cardiologist and surgeon and also as co-founder of Kinapse life sciences consultancy. Additionally, he served as lead partner in Accenture’s Pharmaceutical R&D Practice. With his exceptional breadth of industry knowledge, Dr. Edwards will provide significant contributions to strategic business discussions in support of PHASTAR’s future planning and provide a key link between PHASTAR’s business and Charterhouse.

“PHASTAR is a superb provider of statistical support to its clients and operates in a very attractive industry, supported by numerous long-term growth drivers. The company has an enviable reputation, among both pharmaceutical companies and individual statisticians, and is an excellent fit for our firm’s investment strategy. We have been particularly impressed by the relentless focus on quality and service, which is core to PHASTAR’s culture. We look forward to working with Kevin and the entire PHASTAR team to leverage the enormous opportunity for further growth during the coming years,” added James Cocker, Partner at Charterhouse.

Edgemont Partners acted as advisors to PHASTAR and Charterhouse was advised by Results Healthcare.

PHASTAR is a global specialist biometrics CRO offering statistical consulting, clinical trial reporting, data management and data science services by providing expert consultants and managing and delivering in-house projects, FSP style arrangements and preferred partnerships. PHASTAR’s number one priority is to ensure that the work produced is of the highest quality. Every project PHASTAR undertakes utilizes unique internal processes, designed to ensure optimal quality.  All PHASTAR’s statistical, programming, data management, and data science staff are trained in the “PHASTAR Discipline” – an in-house approach to data analysis and collection. This comprises a set of common sense (but commonly ignored) principles that, if followed, guarantee error free outcomes. The “PHASTAR Discipline” also includes a series of intranet-based checklists highlighting potential pitfalls and points-to-consider when conducting clinical trials, enabling over 3,700 years of combined technical knowledge to be shared across the company.  As the largest UK headquartered biometrics CRO, PHASTAR has 12 office locations worldwide (US, UK, Australia, Germany, Kenya, and Japan). For further information on PHASTAR contact tellmemore@phastar.com.

Charterhouse is one of the longest established private equity firms operating in Europe. The firm connects expertise and capital, collaborating with ambitious management teams to drive transformational change. Charterhouse has a selective, conviction-led approach to investing in high-quality mid-market European companies across the Services, Healthcare, Specialised Industrials and Consumer sectors. It targets transactions with an enterprise value of between €75m and €1.5bn. Charterhouse’s international team works in an integrated and flexible manner, without internal silos, from one main office in London. This allows the firm to work in true partnership with management and combine the skills, knowledge and experience of its entire team to help build successful businesses over the long term. Charterhouse has completed more than 150 acquisitions over 35 years of activity in the European buyout market. For more information, visit www.charterhouse.co.uk.