Shortly after unveiling a brand refresh at the start of the year, CG Life has announced it acquired digital agency Toolhouse.

The acquisition is meant to boost the 2023 MM+M Agency 100 honoree’s digital capabilities, bringing Toolhouse’s expertise in marketing technology enablement, data-driven insights and user-centric design into the mix. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“I’m thrilled that Toolhouse chose to join us in our journey to build what I’m calling a science-first, tech-enabled agency for the life science and biopharma industry,” CG Life CEO David Ormesher told MM+M.

Ormesher noted that the evolution of the deal started when he stepped into the CEO role at CG Life late last year.

“One of the first calls I made in December was to Toolhouse because I felt like they would be a great partner for us,” he said. “I knew them, I knew their work and had a lot of respect for their leadership. They were one of those agencies that played well on the sandbox with others, and had built a strong reputation as a digital agency of record.”

CG Life has recently sought to position itself as a brand that’s driven by scientific expertise. In January, it rolled out its “Shaped By Science” brand refresh, seeking to underscore its commitment to scientific innovation.

Ormesher said he believes the future of the biopharma industry lies in innovation and personalization for small patient populations and rare diseases.

That’s where Toolhouse comes in. Where CG Life provides the science and marketing on its platform, Toolhouse brings the digital transformation, omnichannel and data analytics capabilities – as well as experience working with large branded pharma companies.

“It’s a future that requires a deep understanding of science,” Ormesher said. “But this future of smaller targeted therapies for smaller patient populations also requires the digital capabilities to reach the right audiences with personalized messages.”

Ormesher highlighted Toolhouse’s “strong capabilities” as being omnichannel customer engagement, ability to execute the right segmentation and targeting, and building solid customer experiences.

Finally, Toolhouse’ data analytics will help CG Life “measure our effectiveness and then make course corrections as necessary along the way.”

The deal will make CG Life’s headcount double to 150. Toolhouse executives will remain in leadership roles in the newly combined team.

That includes Mike Wiebe, who served as Toolhouse’s CEO and chief creative officer, stepping into the role of SVP of digital at CG Life.

Kari Obrist will hold the position of SVP of client delivery and Kevin Stock will serve as SVP of technology.

The acquisition will help CG Life further hone its focus on the rare disease and small patient population space, Ormesher said.

He pointed to the seven cell and gene therapies approved last year – as well as 17 cell and gene therapies that are currently in the pipeline awaiting regulatory review – as signs of future growth in the area.

“This is a whole category that’s going to require an understanding of deep science, but also going to require the ability to communicate that deep science to those targeted audiences,” Ormesher explained. “That’s where the digital comes in. I see them as two legs of the stool – science and digital omnichannel giving us the tools to be able to help some of these companies get to market.”