By: Charlie Copp – Director – Head of Life Sciences and Healthcare, Crowe
The pharma services market is undergoing a period of transformation, driven by an increasing demand for specialist expertise in bringing drugs to market. The UK’s strong life sciences infrastructure, proximity to global markets, and regulatory reforms, such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s International Recognition Procedure, ensure the UK remains a strategic hub for pharma services growth. As outsourcing to smaller entities becomes the norm across the drug development lifecycle, both strategic buyers and private equity investors are actively reshaping the landscape through consolidation.
The changing landscape. What makes an attractive investment?
As big pharma continue to increase R&D spend, driving the drug pipeline of novel therapeutics and innovative products receiving regulatory approval and reaching patients, the life sciences industry has seen a rise in the number of drugs that have been brought to market over the past decade. With a rising focus on orphan drugs and personalised medicines, new drugs are increasingly more specialised and the path from molecule to market involves defining added value for ever smaller groups of patients.
Simultaneously, real-world data and sophisticated analytics are becoming increasingly central to optimising drug positioning, enhancing patient engagement, and supporting robust evidence generation. As a result, organisations with data-driven capabilities have also become particularly attractive targets for acquisition, with specialist service providers becoming increasingly sought after as targets in the UK market.
Crowe’s Life Sciences and Healthcare team is comprised of industry experts from a range of service lines including M&A advisory, tax and audit. In H1 2025 we advised the shareholders of Ashley Medical Communications (AMC), a leading specialist medical education and communications agency, on investment from Hypha Partners to support the management buyout of the business. Find out more.
The rise in strategic consolidators and private equity interest
Pharma companies are increasingly favouring partnerships with fewer, more comprehensive service providers. There is increased scrutiny on preferred supplier lists which are being reduced to a smaller selection of parties.
This shift is fuelling consolidation across the UK market, with specialist consultancies and contract research organisations (CROs) emerging as prime candidates for consolidation, reflective of the ongoing evolution and emphasis on efficiency and innovation. Subsequently, we’re seeing an increase in buyers targeting firms with deep therapeutic expertise and scalable platforms, particularly in oncology, rare diseases, and advanced therapies.
International M&A appetite is strong with an increasing presence of buyers from the US, Asia and India.
Private equity has become central to the sector’s evolution, deploying buy-and-build strategies to create scaled platforms. The market remains highly fragmented with niche service providers presenting as attractive acquisition opportunities.
In H1 2025 some notable UK transactions include:
- Herspiegel, a leader in pharmaceutical commercialisation services, backed by DFW Capital Partners made two UK based bolt-on acquisitions , firstly Fiecon which provides health economics consultancy services and secondly Decisive Consulting a market access specialist
- FibroFind, a UK-based globally recognised pre-clinical CRO, received investment from Vespa Capital
- MedComms Experts, a global medical communications agency backed by The Brydon Group, acquired NexGen Healthcare Communications, an agency with expertise in integrated medical and commercial communications.
The digital transformation drive
AI, data analytics, and decentralised trial platforms are now central to the value proposition of many outsourced service providers. UK-based firms offering software and consulting solutions are attracting investor interest for their ability to streamline clinical trials and accelerate market access.
The integration of real-world evidence (RWE) and real-world data (RWD) into commercialisation strategies is also gaining traction, with biopharma clients demanding more sophisticated analytics across both clinical and commercial domains.
H2 2025 Outlook
As pharma companies increasingly turn to outsourced providers, consolidation and investment will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of this rapidly evolving market. With strong underlying market dynamics and increasing demand for specialist expertise M&A activity is anticipated to remain strong in the second half of the year.
How Crowe can help you
We work with a range of life sciences organisations, from start-ups through to publicly listed entities. If your organisation needs help or support with audit, tax, advisory or consulting services please do get in touch with
Charlie Copp – Director – Head of Life Sciences and Healthcare
charlie.copp@crowe.co.uk
