Background and Challenge
L.E.K. was retained by a midsize public pharmaceutical company in the process of acquiring an Ireland-based counterpart on an accelerated timeline.
The goals of the integration were to combine the two companies in a manner that maintained compliance with SEC and FDA regulations, to avoid any disruption to normal business activity, and to quickly establish a platform for future growth as a specialty biopharmaceutical company.
Our client faced significant hurdles related to integration, including:
- Extensive commercial sales force organizational redesign to accommodate the combined product portfolio
- Comprehensive transition of all email and IT services within the first 72 hours post-close
- Rollout of a revamped contracting process related to new legal entity structure
As part of the client’s strategic vision, the combined company needed to be prepared for additional acquisitions over the subsequent six to 12 months.
Approach and Recommendations
- Mobilized and led an integration management team involving over 40 people to support the development of detailed integration plans for 16 functional teams during the period pre-close and shortly thereafter.
- Within the first five days, we drafted customized tools for the IMT and built out a complete project office infrastructure.
- Initiated and led a series of IMT and Steering Committee meetings to identify functional team needs and interdependencies.
- Provided dedicated planning and execution support to several functional teams, including commercial, communications, compliance, drug safety, finance, human resources, IT and facilities, medical affairs, legal, manufacturing, quality, and regulatory.
Results
The integration proceeded smoothly, and our client enjoyed a successful Day 1 in line with its publicly communicated timeline.
We helped prepare the client for a successful Day 1 and early post-close transition:
- There were no supply interruptions, and revenues were protected on existing commercial products
- Back-office operations in finance and HR ran smoothly during the transition
- IT support was effective Day 1, and all employees of the acquired company were transferred to client IT infrastructure within 36 hours of close
- External and internal communications were well-received and helped address employee concerns while establishing a sense of unity across the combined company
With our guidance and execution support, the client successfully maintained business continuity and commercial stability throughout the integration process.
In the post-close period, we refocused the client on its remaining integration activities, transitioning full IMT ownership to the client so all transaction-related objectives could continue to be monitored to completion and additional growth opportunities could be explored immediately.
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