Lumanity’s M&A spree continued with the acquisition of research and consulting firm Endpoint Outcomes. Terms were not disclosed.

It’s the seventh acquisition in the last two years for Lumanity, which is backed by private equity partner Arsenal Capital, and bolsters the acquirer’s value demonstration capability. The Boston-based Endpoint develops and implements patient-centric clinical outcomes assessments (COAs).

In the U.S., Endpoint’s work is primarily focused on regulatory submissions. “We’re trying to ensure the patient voice gets into the product label, so that biopharma companies can make claims about patient benefits that are important to them, like symptom relief, activities of daily living, et cetera.,” founder and CEO Chris Evans explained. 

The deal should expand the market for Endpoint’s services beyond regulatory submissions. Its 30 staffers will sit within Lumanity’s value, access and outcomes unit, alongside what was once health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) consultancy BresMed and payer communications and market access firm Cyan Health. 

The firms tend to sell to a similar buyer: HEOR purchasers at biopharma companies. But BresMed, for one, does a lot of work with health technology assessment (HTA) bodies and payers in the U.S. and Europe. Lumanity sees opportunity in combining health economics with patient COAs to support payer evaluations and HTAs,

“HTA bodies and payers around the world are increasingly requesting – demanding – COA measures when deciding whether to cover and how to cover a product. So being able to leverage the capabilities of Chris and his team will be quite valuable,” explained Lumanity CEO Jon Williams. 

Evans agreed, adding, “We have the ability to bring the patient voice out of the regulatory framework, which is where we traditionally do the work, and into the reimbursement framework.” 

Not that Lumanity didn’t already have a patient research capability. Last May, the company created a patient center of excellence charged with bringing the patient voice into the commercialization process. It supported a council staffed by about a dozen patients, most of whom are CEOs of advocacy groups in a diverse array of disease states. 

The addition of Evans’ team, Williams said, is another sign of Lumanity’s commitment “to putting patients at the center of their health and empowered to be able to drive a more efficient and effective set of health-related decisions around the world.” 

Like its sibling agencies, Endpoint Outcomes will eventually rebrand as Lumanity. Evans will report to Nick Sullivan, Lumanity’s global president of HEOR. No layoffs are planned.

Lumanity’s deal spree began in 2020 with the buyouts of BresMed and med affairs shop Cello Health. Acquired last year were full-service agency Guidemark Health, Cyan Health and Zipher Medical Affairs. Innovative Edge, a London-based brand launch commercialization, software and consulting firm, came into the fold this year. 

Williams said that Lumanity will continue to grow organically and on the M&A front.

“In our first quarter, we hired roughly twice as many as we did in the first quarter last year,” he noted. The company is targeting between 450 and 550 new hires in 2022, depending on how client demand evolves.

“Simultaneously, we’re adding very important strategic capabilities that are difficult to build organically,” Williams continued. “I would expect there will be additional acquisitions between now and the end of the year, and we’ll continue, with the support of Arsenal, to be proactive in looking for what those opportunities may be.”