Following the completion of the management buyout of Synexus, the new board confirms its intention to expand the footprint of the company through organic growth and acquisition. Synexus, a multi-national company dedicated to the recruitment and running of clinical trials at its own research centers across the globe, intends to become a major player in the U.S., continue to expand its existing network of sites in Europe and Africa and develop a presence in Asia and South America.
The new board members of Synexus are chairman Charles Woler and non-executives Benjamin Harrild, Hywel Evans, Ged Gould and Simon Braham. Christophe Berthoux, CEO of Synexus, and Paul Chambers, financial director of Synexus, will remain on the board.
Woler has spent the last 30 years in the healthcare industry, both in large multinational pharmaceutical companies, SMEs and lately in smaller, earlier stage companies—positions included chairman and CEO of Roche France, chairman of SmithKline Beecham’s European pharmaceutical business and CEO of Cadus Pharmaceuticals.
Harrild is the head of U.K. for the Direct Lending team of BlueBay Asset Management, and was part of BlueBay’s Direct Lending business from its inception in 2011.
Evans has experience in pharma and in the CRO sector, including being managing director of Novo Nordisk U.K., managing director of Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.K., and after joining Quintiles he rose to become president of Europe. He also is chairman of Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust.
Gould is director and office head of LDC Manchester and has over 20 years of experience from the advisory arena, private equity, as well as being the finance director of two private equity backed businesses.
Braham is the investment director at LDC Manchester—part of the Lloyds Group—and has over 17 years’ experience in advisory, banking, restructuring and private equity.
Professor Trevor Jones, CBE, will continue to chair the Synexus scientific advisory board.
Since 2007 Synexus has expanded its international network from 13 to 25 dedicated research centers across eight countries. At any one time these centers are involved in more than 200 trials with 14,000 patients. Recent expansion has included new site openings in Hexham in the U.K. (a pioneering partnership with the NHS), Bochum in Germany, Bucharest in Romania, Poznan in Poland and Sofia in Bulgaria. Synexus also acquired a site near Cape Town in South Africa. This expansion has increased its access to more than 68 million potential patients. In addition it has a network of 25 complementary affiliate sites which further extends Synexus’ reach.
