Studies&Me becomes a part of Sanos Group

The clinical contract research organization Sanos Group has entered into an agreement with LEO Pharma to acquire Studies&Me to strengthen recruitment for clinical studies, accelerate digital development and create a position of strength within decentralized virtual studies.

Studies&Me A/S was the first virtual contract research organization in Europe and today conducts decentralized clinical studies, which makes it possible to offer a more patient-centered approach with fewer clinic visits and patients, a reduced need for staff and shorter trial periods. Patients participate from their homes with the application of digital initiatives and medical devices, and they are more involved in the planning of the study and the process via apps on their own devices. Overall, this leads to higher satisfaction and quality as well as economic value, as it can be both cheaper, better, and faster than traditional study designs.

"Studies&Me fits well with the development we are currently undergoing at Sanos Group. They have created a strong recruitment platform, valuable digital skills, and a high-quality app-based technology, which complement and strengthen the continued development of our way of conducting clinical studies for our clients," says Group CEO Jeppe Ragnar Andersen, Sanos Group.

Highly efficient patient recruitment

Studies&Me has generated strong results recruiting patients via online campaigns where the process from registration to introduction to a study coordinator can be completed in as little as three hours. While it can take up to a year to recruit patients for traditional studies, Studies&Me can recruit in 14 days or 8 weeks for online studies and hybrid courses of study, respectively.

In addition to effective recruitment, Studies&Me can reach patient groups that did not previously participate in clinical trials, and the number of patients leaving studies can be reduced by up to two-thirds. Studies&Me has completed more than 20 Phase 1 to 4 clinical studies in traditional on-site, hybrid and decentralized study designs. This position of strength has been created in dermatology and endocrinology with studies in atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, actinic keratosis, onychomycosis, and T2-diabetes. The company has established a patient database of over 20,000 people from North America, Europe, and Australia.

Head of LEO Innovation Lab, Anne Cathrine Fleischer, who is also interim CEO of Studies&Me, sees this as an obvious collaboration.

"We could not have imagined a better buyer and see it as the perfect match for Studies&Me to be part of the Sanos Group in the future. There is no doubt that the strong digital competencies, as well as the experience we have built running clinical studies digitally in Studies&Me, will create good synergy with Sanos, their ambitious plans for the future and their already solid market position. From LEO Pharma's side, we are excited to contribute to an innovative ecosystem that makes life easier for patients in decentralized clinical studies," she said.

LEO Pharma's digital innovation unit LEO Innovation Lab started the Studies&Me project in 2016 and established the company as an independent business in August 2020. Studies&Me continues for the time being under its own name and identity.

"Studies&Me will be given the role of Sanos Group's competence center for decentralised clinical studies, with a focus on internal innovation within the Group and the external delivery of clinical projects. We are very much looking forward to the collaboration with the talented employees of Studies&Me and the expansion of the business, which will ensure us a unique position in both dermatology and DCT from studies in the early stages to online studies in phase 4, which complements our additional services perfectly," says Jeppe Ragnar Andersen.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price for the transaction, which is expected to be completed on May 1st, 2022.

About Studies&Me

LEO Pharma's digital innovation unit LEO Innovation Lab started the Studies&Me project in 2016 and established the company as an independent business in August 2020. Studies&Me is Europe's first virtual contract research organization with the goal of transforming the clinical research world. By digitizing all phases of the study and actively engaging patients as design partners, end-to-end experiences can be created that reach previously excluded patient populations and deliver better outcomes for participants, investigators, and sponsors alike.

About Sanos Group

Sanos Group is a leading specialized provider of services for clinical studies in the global pharma and biotech industry, specializing in osteoarthritis and with head office in Herlev, West of Copenhagen. The group also includes Sanos Clinic and the contract research organization NBCD. Since December 2020, Sanos Group has been owned by Investcorp, a global provider and manager of alternative investment products with a strong track record of investments in the healthcare sector worldwide.

For additional information, please contact:
Group CEO Jeppe Ragnar Andersen, Sanos Group: +45 7370 8223, jra@sanos.com
CEO Anne Cathrine Fleischer, Studies&Me/LEO innovation Lab: +45 4188 3086