Austin healthcare agency HCB Health has joined marketing collective NPG Health and rebranded itself as Boundless Life Sciences Group, the formerly independent firm said Wednesday morning.
The 21-year-old company will continue to be led by Kerry Hilton, founder and CEO. Likewise, the Boundless team will still be headquartered in Austin with colleagues in New Jersey and Chicago, along with remote staff throughout the country.
Beyond simply adopting the name, Hilton said the agency will take a “boundless” approach to working across biopharma, medical devices and marketing services for healthcare providers, specifically in oncology, rare diseases and dermatology, among other areas.
“New ideas require the best use of data science, software, media and creative thinking,” he stated.
Boundless follows the launch of fellow NPG Health marketing shop Bliss Bio Health, which took place earlier this year when NPG (Next Practice Group) — led by Bob Pearson, NPG founder and chair — joined forces with The Bliss Group.
That unification also spawned NPG Health itself, which has offices in New Jersey, New York City, Austin, Dallas and London. It’s led by Gloria Vanderham and Michael Roth, CEO and chair, respectively.
The life science marketing collective has its sights set on early science and R&D research, along with medical education, advertising, commercialization and reimbursement. NPG was created “from the back of a napkin” in Austin during COVID-19, the statement noted.
The group ended 2022 with more than 250 team members and is on track to double in size this year. That may include growth by adding additional agencies to NPG Health, which Pearson described as a “next-generation healthcare platform” equally adept at newer solutions like AI as it is imagining creative concepts.
“We already have a strong and innovative roadmap,” Hilton noted.
If so, it would extend a string of platform M&A in the healthcare agency space. That trend continued last year with deals like Lumanity — backed by Arsenal Capital — buying research firm Endpoint Outcomes; Fishawack Health scooping up DC policy shop Avalere Health, with investment from Bridgepoint; and Relevate Health, bolstered by private equity (PE) firm Mountaingate Capital, making several investments.
This week, Spectrum Science announced a partnership with PE group Knox Lane, designed to fuel growth through acquisitions.
