LongueVue Capital Onboards Dedicated Life Sciences Operating Partner, Adrian Otte, And Completes Investment In KPS Life, LLC

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Jan 12, 2021, 08:28 ET

NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LongueVue Capital ("LVC"), together with its Life Sciences Operating Partner, Adrian Otte, is pleased to announce it has partnered with CEO David Kelly and the management team of KPS Life, LLC ("KPS" or "the Company") to recapitalize the business and provide growth capital. The structured debt and preferred equity investment represents the first institutional capital for KPS, a functional service provider ("FSP") that offers outsourced clinical trial services to pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

KPS's services include clinical monitoring, clinical oversight, clinical trial management, data management, eTMF and document management, vendor qualification, and medical writing. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Malvern, PA, KPS has carved out a leadership position within the FSP market by providing high-quality and customized clinical trial execution while mitigating costs and increasing transparency for its clients. The Company's operations span six continents and more than 20 countries, supporting pharmaceutical and biotech companies of all sizes across all stages of clinical trials.

"KPS's strong growth has been built on its fundamental commitment to quality and service," said Rick Rees, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of LongueVue Capital. "We are excited to partner with KPS as the Company's first institutional capital provider and support its pursuit of global FSP market leadership."

"KPS is extremely excited to work with LongueVue Capital and Adrian Otte. We were looking for a strategic partner who could provide not just capital, but also the resources to help us drive outsized growth without sacrificing our high touchpoint customer service model. We found that partner in LongueVue," said David Kelly. "We are impressed by LVC's deep industry relationships and proven track record of growing middle-market businesses at inflection points. Their expertise within the healthcare sector – and specifically life sciences – was apparent during our diligence process." David added, "We view Adrian as an extension of our team, and he will be invaluable to our organization and customers. We look forward to working closely with LVC and Adrian to build upon our success to date."

"Despite COVID-19 and the challenging backdrop of 2020, KPS realized meaningful growth with both new and existing customers, exemplifying the Company's mission-critical services and strong value proposition," added Ryan Nagim, Partner at LVC. "We see a unique opportunity to draw upon Adrian's background in the clinical development space to further accelerate the Company's growth as value-added partners."

"I am a strong proponent of the FSP model and a firm believer in the capabilities of the KPS team," added Adrian Otte, who invested in KPS alongside LVC and will join the Company's Board of Directors. "After transitioning numerous operations to the FSP model over my 30+ year career, I believe the benefits for sponsors of the FSP model over the full-service clinical research outsourcing model remain substantial. I am confident KPS is well-positioned to capitalize on increasing FSP spend, and I am excited to work actively with the KPS team and its customers to enhance existing offerings and drive sustainable growth."

Adrian recently joined the LVC team as an Operating Partner to support the firm's Healthcare and Life Sciences investment strategy. Previously, Adrian held various senior leadership positions with both pharmaceutical and services companies, including serving as Vice President of Global Development Operations at Amgen, Senior Vice President of Global Development Operations at Pfizer, Chief Operating Officer at ICSL Healthcare Research (sold to Comprehensive Neuroscience), Vice President of Medical Research at AstraZeneca, and Senior Vice President of Research Operations at Parexel.

Ryan Nagim, who leads LVC's Healthcare vertical, stated, "We are ecstatic to welcome Adrian into the LVC family given our shared approach and ambition to capitalize on rapid changes within the life sciences sector and specifically in the clinical outsourcing market." Ryan added, "With over 30 years of senior leadership experience across both therapeutics and services, Adrian brings unrivaled expertise and extensive industry contacts to both support LVC's sourcing and execution efforts and provide strategic guidance to our portfolio companies post-closing."

LVC's legal counsel was provided by Vedder Price PC. KPS's legal counsel was provided by Harris Beach PLLC.

To learn more information about KPS and the Company's services, visit www.kpslife.com.

ABOUT LONGUEVUE CAPITAL

Founded in 2001, LongueVue Capital is a New Orleans-based private equity firm that focuses on providing human capital, financial capital, and a skill set built upon a successful 20-year track record of partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams to drive value creation in middle market companies. Having managed over $500 million of capital spanning three funds coupled with 150 years of combined operating and investing experience, our team is the ideal partner for middle market companies at inflection points and seeking to maximize value.

Our opportunistic investment strategy provides the flexibility to partner with attractive businesses across a variety of industries and situations, and we tailor transaction structures to meet the company and stakeholders' objectives. While we are selective with our investment strategy, we target growth-oriented companies with scalable, sustainable business models and exceptional leadership teams.

Our proactive, hands-on approach enables us to be thoughtful stewards of our portfolio companies and trusted and dependable strategic partners to all stakeholders. Together with our entrepreneur and management team partners, we help create superior value for our portfolio companies and investors.

To learn more about LongueVue Capital, please visit our website at www.lvcpartners.com or contact Charles Cox, Director, at [email protected] or call 504.293.3600.

SOURCE LongueVue Capital