Vector Capital, private equity firm focused on value-oriented investments in technology companies, has sold Certara, a provider of drug development software and services, to Arsenal Capital Partners, a US-based based private equity firm.
Certara's model-based drug development and data analytics software enables its biopharmaceutical customers to significantly improve productivity and decision-making throughout the entire drug development value chain, from early molecular discovery through complex and costly pre-clinical and clinical development.
In 2007, Vector Capital backed Jim Hopkins, previously a board member of Corel and CIO of Register.com, both Vector portfolio companies, in founding Certara, with a vision to become the leading provider of model-based drug development.
Working closely with the management team of Certara, Vector helped identify and execute the acquisitions of Tripos, a discovery informatics software company, in 2007, of Pharsight, a provider of software, strategic, and regulatory services for clinical drug development, in 2008, and of Simcyp, a drug response modeling and simulation platform, in 2012.
With these acquisitions and continued organic growth, Certara has emerged as the global leader in model-based drug development.
Certara CEO Jim Hopkins noted with the full support of Vector Capital, the company has broadened its product offerings organically and through acquisitions, expanded its global presence and optimized its operations in order to provide clients with tools that enable significant reductions in the time and expense of bringing new drugs to market.
"Vector Capital has been a great partner in transforming Certara into a world class leader in model-based drug development solutions," Hopkins added.
William Blair & Company acted as exclusive financial advisor to Certara and Vector Capital, and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal advisor to Certara and Vector Capital.