After having acquired French-based AxPharma and US-based DS InPharmatics, PLG continues its dynamic development with this new build-up. It allows the group, acquired by 21 Invest France in 2019, to establish itself in India and strengthen its position in Central Europe, thus enhancing its value proposition with offshoring capacities.

Founded in 2004, ELC is a regulatory affairs specialist for the pharmaceutical industry. With a team made up of nearly 150 professionals spread mainly between the Czech Republic, Romania and India, the group supports its clients' projects in more than 60 countries. Through this strategic operation, PLG reinforces its execution capacity worldwide while adding offshoring capacities to its already existing nearshoring capacities. The acquisition of ELC enables to strengthen PLG's workforce in Romania, and the Indian platform will facilitate the roll-out of certain outsourcing contracts while making it possible to better address English-speaking countries.

The acquisition of ELC gives a whole new dimension to PLG, whose ambition is to create worldwide centers of excellence. It will give the new entity a critical mass to better meet clients’ expectations in a wide array of services such as Regulatory Affairs, Regulatory Operations, CMC & Quality, Medical Information, as well as Vigilances.

The transaction, which closed on 20 July 2021, was financed through the external growth line set up by Zencap Asset Management at the end of 2020 and through the investment made by ELC managers in PLG. The lender also enables PLG to transform its regular debt into an impact debt i.e. including ESG commitments.

Xavier Duburcq, CEO of ProductLife Group comments: “This is a landmark acquisition for PLG, helping us complement our domain expertise and bring new capabilities that will enhance the value proposition made to our clients. Together, PLG and ELC teams offer an unmatched value proposition to address clients’ regulatory compliance challenges. Now better than ever before, I trust we can offer our clients innovative solutions to support them in their industrialization and digital transformation journey.”

Fabrice Voituron, Managing Partner at 21 Invest France adds: "With the acquisition of ELC, PLG completes its third external growth operation in less than a year. We took advantage of this transaction to further integrate ESG considerations within the group, establishing a proactive sustainability strategy which we fully support. Each of these acquisitions has met a specific objective of the initial strategic plan, shared and perfectly implemented by Xavier Duburcq and his teams. We are happy with PLG’s good momentum and with the new dimension it has entered."