Sheffield-based IN-PART, a digital matchmaking platform dedicated to academia-industry collaboration, has been acquired by Lyon-headquartered Inova, a cloud-based solution aimed at helping life science companies locate and manage their biopharma opportunities more efficiently.
Along with the recent acquisition of Labiotech, Inova says the move consolidates its position as a leader in the digitalization of the biopharma partnering space, supported by the €60 million investment from global private equity firm Carlyle and reaffirmation of a strong commitment by NextStage AM, in 2021.
Inova supports more than 160 global clients, including many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.
IN-PART develops curated digital solutions that drive impact from research by streamlining relationships between industry professionals and the world of academic institutions. IN-PART’s matchmaking platform, Connect, is used by 250+ universities and research institutes to find new partners for commercialization across more than 6,000 companies.
The company’s bespoke scouting platform, Discover, is used by sector leaders to engage academics, TTOs, and research service departments in more than 1,500 institutes with specific R&D challenges or requirements.
This acquisition is a major step forward for academia-industry partnering. While IN-PART will continue to service and expand its platforms for all research sectors, by joining forces with Inova, the company will gain access to Inova’s software infrastructure, as well as their teams in product and marketing.
In turn, Inova clients will benefit from access to IN-PART search and discovery platforms, as well as leveraging best practice in matchmaking technology.
Gilles Toulemonde, founder and CEO, Inova, said: “The Inova team is growing with talents and resources that are taking life science partnering to the next level. There is a growing consensus in the biopharma partnering world that academia is the next game-changer.
“However, our customers often report how difficult it is to navigate the extensive science produced by university groups. IN-PART has built an impressive digital solution to tackle this exact challenge and by acquiring them, we are now bringing our mission full-circle and including academia in the next gen partnering world. Together, we’re helping untapped science reach the market through smart partnering.”
Patrick Speedie, co-founder and co-CEO, IN-PART, said: “In Inova, we’ve found a great strategic fit across our technology base and close alignment in terms of company values and culture. It will give us access to a lot more resources and expertise for IN-PART to accelerate its growth and achieve its vision of connecting the academia-industry ecosystem, across all the research fields and sectors we work with. It’s a big moment for us and we’re looking forward to the next part of our journey with the amazing team at Inova.”
Robin Knight, co-founder and director, IN-PART, said: “It was clear from the start with Inova that there was synergy between our vision and approach. Inova provides clients with sector-leading Partnering software that fits perfectly with our matchmaking platform and search solution, Discover. The union of our companies, along with the exchange of expertise and technology across our teams will allow us to accelerate the pace at which we’re helping to surface the next generation of treatments and technologies.”
