HMP Global Announces Landmark Acquisition of Neuroscience Education Institute (NEI)

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Jul 11, 2023, 09:00 ET

Transaction brings two market-leading entities in mental health education under HMP Global umbrella and positions company as a worldwide powerhouse in the advancement of practical psychopharmacology and CNS-focused education; includes the preeminent brands NEI Congress and NEI Synapse

MALVERN, Pa., July 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HMP Global, a leading omnichannel healthcare education and events company, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Neuroscience Education Institute (NEI), a privately held medical education company, and distinguished leader in psychopharmacology-based CNS (Central Nervous System) education. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Under the terms of the agreement, NEI will become a fully owned subsidiary of HMP Global and operate as an independent entity as part of the HMP Global family of companies.

Founded in 2000 by Stephen M. Stahl, MD, PhD, an internationally renowned clinician, researcher, teacher, and pioneer in psychiatry with subspecialty expertise in the field of psychopharmacology, NEI was developed with the desire to help more patients by helping the professionals who treat them. His best-selling book, Essential Psychopharmacology, currently in its 5^th edition, remains the essential text on disease and drug mechanisms for all students and professionals in mental health. NEI's rich educational portfolio includes the highly regarded annual conferences, NEI Congress and NEI Synapse; online CME activities; news and research; and high-value everyday tools used in practical care scenarios. Through NEI membership, the organization provides valuable online resources and exclusive member-only benefits to clinicians throughout the world. NEI has a specialized focus in depression; anxiety disorders; bipolar spectrum disorders; schizophrenia; sleep disorders; ADHD; Alzheimer's disease; substance use; PTSD; traumatic brain injuries; and more.

"Today marks a significant milestone as we add the NEI company into the HMP Global portfolio, continuing our evolution as the world's leading resource for healthcare education," said Jeff Hennessy, Chairman and CEO, HMP Global. "We have long admired NEI – a company with an outstanding reputation, whose success has been driven by exemplary leadership, strong core values, and a passionate commitment to educating clinicians. This is a transaction based on a shared mission and deep mutual respect. We welcome our NEI colleagues to HMP Global and together, we will continue to advance clinician education and drive meaningful improvement in the quality of mental health care in the U.S. and around the world."

Under the terms of the agreement, NEI will become a fully owned subsidiary of HMP Global and operate as an independent entity as part of the HMP Global family of companies. The NEI management team will remain in place, with Steve Smith as CEO and Sheri Mills as President.

As part of the acquisition, HMP Global also announced several leadership changes:

Randy Robbin has been named Chief Learning Officer, in addition to his role as President, HMP Education, the company's medical education arm. Both Smith and Mills will report to Robbin.
Jeff Hennessy, Jr. has been named Chief Operating Officer, in addition to his role as President. HMP Omnimedia, which includes HMP Collective, the company's medical communications agency.

"This agreement represents incredible opportunity," said Robbin. "We have long respected NEI for their wealth of knowledge, longstanding relationships with renowned faculty, and innovative partnerships with industry. I look forward to working with Stephen and Sheri to realize the considerable potential to expand in their current market as well as reach new clinician types."

"This is an exciting new chapter for NEI," said Smith. "We are enormously proud to be joining a well-run organization like HMP Global, with a purpose-driven commitment to education. They have built an incredible company with extensive reach and regard across the global healthcare community in many verticals, and they are firmly focused on investing in our success and helping us accelerate our growth."

The agreement will further expand the company's presence in all ways throughout the psychiatry and behavioral health market. In 2012, the company acquired the U.S. Psychiatric & Mental Health Congress, now known as Psych Congress, the largest independent mental health meeting in the U.S. Over the past several years, the company has built a powerhouse portfolio of mental health education and content through both the organic launch and acquisition of relevant, complementary offerings, including Psych Congress Elevate, an educational conference for emerging mental health clinicians; Psych Congress Regional meetings; the Evolution of Psychotherapy; Rx Summit; the Symposia on Addictive Disorders; and Psych Congress Network, a year-round digital resource.

This continues to be a period of accelerated growth for HMP Global, with recent transactions in the fields of senior living, cardiovascular, and market access/oncology. In 2022, the company completed the February purchase of the Senior Care Marketing and Sales Summit (SMASH), the meeting for C-suite sales and marketing executives within senior housing and post-acute care organizations, as well as announced the formation of a Senior Care Division. In June of 2022, the company acquired the Western Afib Symposium, the leading educational conference focused on advancements in atrial fibrillation, and in September, the company announced the acquisition of Proximity Health, LLC, now known as HMP Market Access Insights, a Palo Alto, California-based company with deep experience delivering actionable analysis and guidance for the pharmaceutical industry and billed as the 'gold standard' provider of market access insights.

Navagant served as exclusive investment banking advisor to NEI Global. Armstrong Teasedale LLP provided legal counsel to NEI Global and Troutman Pepper LLP provided legal counsel to HMP Global.

About HMP Global
HMP Global is the force behind Healthcare Made Practical — and is an omnichannel leader in healthcare content, events, and education, with a mission to improve patient care. The company produces accredited medical education events — in person and online via its proprietary VRTX Virtual platform — and clinically relevant, evidence-based content for the global healthcare community across a range of therapeutic areas. Its brands include the HMP Global Learning Network, healthcare's most comprehensive source for news and information; Psych Congress, the largest independent mental health meeting in the U.S.; the Evolution of Psychotherapy, the world's largest independent educational event for mental health professionals; the Leipzig Interventional Course (LINC), the leading, global gathering for interdisciplinary cardiovascular specialists; EMS World Expo, North America's largest EMT and paramedic event; and the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), the largest wound care meeting in the world. For more information, visit hmpglobal.com.

About NEI
The Neuroscience Education Institute (NEI) was founded with the desire to help more patients by helping the professionals who treat them. Since its inception in 2000, NEI has distinguished itself by providing high quality, visually engaging, and evidence-based educational activities designed to help increase the competence of healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric and neurologic disease states. NEI's CME program consists of annual and regional conferences; live sessions at national meetings; online CME activities, print CME activities; news and research; practice tools; and other online resources. Through membership, NEI provides valuable online resources and exclusive member-only benefits to clinicians throughout the world. Learn more at https://nei.global/mem.

SOURCE HMP Global