Navigant buys life sciences specialist Quorum Consulting
Quorum Consulting was recently acquired by global professional services firm Navigant Consulting for an undisclosed fee. The San Francisco-based firm will join Navigant’s life sciences practice, which is planning to expand its market footprint.
The life sciences industry is going through changes in response to disruptive trends within the sector. Global healthcare reforms are forcing firms to show how their products improve patient outcomes, lower costs, or both. The vast majority of industry leaders are also under pressure to change business practices and personnel management – something which consulting firms are well-placed to capitalize on by offering transformation advisory services to the sector.
Founded in 1996, Quorum Consulting is a consultancy which specializes in advising the medical sector. Primarily, the firm supports healthcare innovators, helping them navigate the economic, reimbursement, and financial issues crucial to the success of new medical technologies. Quorum also develops clinical evidence and outcomes data to support payer coverage policies and product adoption. Quorum’s client services include strategic product planning, market access programs, health economics and outcomes research, and reimbursement policy and government affairs. The firm’s clients currently include innovative pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and molecular diagnostic companies.
After 21 years of service, the firm has been acquired by international professional services company Navigant. The new deal arrives a year after Navigant acquired environment and energy consultancy Ecofys. Navigant operates in four main practice areas: Disputes, Investigations & Economics; Energy; Financial, Risk & Compliance Advisory; and Healthcare.
Navigant, which has purchased all the substantial assets of Quorum Consulting, absorbs the firm’s San Francisco-based workforce of about 40 professionals. The Quorum team, which includes founder and CEO Kuo Bianchini Tong, will expand Navigant’s capabilities in the life sciences industry. Quorum will also bolster Navigant’s capacity in life sciences with the addition of their strong methodological practices.
Tong has worked with clients to efficiently manage economic, financial, and reimbursement forces while accelerating product acceptance and utilization across a number of different clinical specialties and therapeutic categories. These categories include solid organ and bone marrow transplantation; hematology and oncology; cardiovascular diagnostics and therapeutics; and infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, among others.
Reflecting on the acquisition, Tong said, “Data-driven decision-making and strategic planning pertaining to reimbursement, health economics and outcomes research, and market access is vital to the success of life sciences companies. The addition of Quorum’s offerings to Navigant’s deep industry expertise will help enable our clients to capitalise on their market opportunity.”
Eduardo Schur, Managing Director and Global Life Sciences Practice Leader at Navigant, added, “In today’s life sciences industry, it is critical that companies understand the conditions necessary to optimize access. Quorum has created a proven methodology to help clients achieve greater market access for their innovations. Quorum has been highly successful and we are excited by the opportunity to develop and expand their capabilities and service offerings into other areas of our life sciences and healthcare practices.”
M&A in life sciences consulting
The deal follows a number of other consulting industry M&A deals in the healthcare sector. In October, France-based Atos acquired a number of healthcare consultancies including Pursuit Healthcare Advisors, Conduent’s Healthcare Provider Consulting, and Conduent’s Breakaway Group. As health insurance costs continue to rise around the world, care providers are increasingly turning to consulting firms to support the deployment of technological solutions that add value and cut service costs.
