Houlihan Lokey Advises Spectrum Science

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Spectrum Science (Spectrum), an independent, integrated marketing, communications, and media firm focused on the pharmaceutical, biotech, and broader life science industries, has received a strategic investment from Knox Lane, a growth-oriented investment firm that is focused on partnering with businesses in the services and consumer sectors. The transaction closed on February 1, 2023. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Owned by industry veteran Jonathan Wilson, Spectrum has been serving clients across the healthcare sector for nearly three decades. The company has experienced robust organic growth under Wilson’s leadership over the past nine years and completed three successful acquisitions in 2022. Today, Spectrum employs more than 300 individuals across the U.S. and U.K.

The partnership with Knox Lane will support the continued expansion of Spectrum’s strategic communications capabilities while also enabling the company to build on its unique approach to clinical trial recruitment, broaden consultative capabilities for medical affairs clients, and drive enhanced tech enablement throughout the organization.

Knox Lane is a growth-oriented investment firm based in San Francisco and comprises a team of accomplished investors and operators with a shared work history and a strong track record of partnering with leading companies to accelerate transformational growth. Knox Lane employs an investor-operator mindset and seeks to provide support across a number of business components, including human capital, brand management, end-to-end digital transformation, sourcing, supply chain and logistics, strategic acquisitions, and business development.

Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive financial advisor to Spectrum Science. This deal highlights Houlihan Lokey’s leading experience in the pharma services space and represents the firm’s 20th transaction in this sector since 2019.