Altamont Capital Partners acquired Publicis Healthcare Solutions (PHS), a pharmaceutical contract commercial services organization, from Publicis Groupe.
 
PHS is a provider of customized, live channel healthcare sales, service and clinical solutions for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and diagnostics companies. The business offers these services through a range of brands including Publicis Touchpoint Solutions, PDI, Tardis Medical, Phrequency and CustomPoint Recruiting, with a reputation as a strong partner for its customers in maximizing product commercialization success. As a standalone company with Altamont’s support, PHS will invest to broaden its capabilities and enhance its strategic partnership to help clients navigate increasingly complex market demands. The business will also soon rebrand its services to unite the existing brands under one name which will reflect the integrated offering and forward vision of the business.
 
As part of the transaction, Altamont’s operating partner Michael Griffith will join PHS as its chief executive officer. Griffith is an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience running businesses that provide agency-regulated outsourced services to pharmaceutical clients, most recently as executive vice president, inVentiv Health and president, commercial division. 
 
“PHS has built a reputation for offering best-in-class service and capability to customers seeking to commercialize healthcare products,” said Mr. Griffith. “The partnership with Altamont will enable the PHS organization to further accelerate its growth and impact an even broader set of clients, while retaining the highest quality of service.”
 
Melissa Francis, principal, Altamont, said, “We believe the growing pharmaceutical outsourcing industry is one of the most attractive segments of healthcare. We are thrilled to partner with the PHS team and plan to continue to invest in the business to develop a broad suite of go-to-market services for the life sciences industry.”