Huntsworth

Mar 27, 2023

The consultancy is led by Huntsworth vet and New Zealand expat Neil Matheson. by Marc Iskowitz, MM+MAdded 49 minutes ago Matheson spent eight years as CEO of Huntsworth Health. Medical marketing exec Neil Matheson has joined with two other industry vets to launch boutique strategic health consultancy Citrus Health Group. Backing from investment firm NaviMed Capital has enabled the organization to build a scientific and medical communications and market access capability. As foundational companies, the group acquired Prescott Medical Communications Group, Citrus Scientific and Citrus Market Access. Matheson is serving as group CEO. Cofounders include Fishawack Health vet John “Zeke” Czekanski, who assumed the role of group COO, and longtime Citrus managing partner Scott Roberts, president of the market access shop. The two started Citrus in 2019. Matheson spent eight years as the U.S.-based CEO of Huntsworth’s biggest and fastest-growing unit, Huntsworth Health. He  left Huntsworth  in 2017, after which he founded E4 Health Group and then became chairman of behavioral-change agency Atlantis Health. The three firms now under the Citrus umbrella will retain their branding, and additional acquisitions are planned to enhance the service offering. Frank Galella, formerly of E4 and Huntsworth Health, has joined as CFO. He has been charged with building out a central services team. NaviMed isn’t always on the acquiring side. In 2021, the firm  sold U.S. medical comms  platform The CM Group to Ascel Health. Healthcare marketing agencies have gone on a medcomms and market access buying spree the last few years. Previous examples include Fingerpaint’s  2020 acquisition  of market-access advisory 1798 Consultants,  since rebranded , followed  the next year  by the addition of medcomms maven MedThink. 2021 saw Lumanity’s M&A deal for market-access  agency Cyan Health , following the 2020 buyouts of HEOR consultancy BresMed and med affairs shop Cello Health. The Fingerpaint and Lumanity deals were fueled by private equity partners Knox Lane and Arsenal Capital, respectively. Other PE-backed shops signaling a desire to make similar platform plays this year include  Lucid Group  and  Boundless LIfe Sciences Group . Subject Tags: