Ora Announces Strategic Investment from The Vistria Group to Propel Global Growth, Enhance Customer Experience in Ophthalmic Research
19 July 2024 - 10:30PM
Business Wire
Ora, the leading global ophthalmic contract research
organization (CRO), is excited to announce that it has been
recapitalized by The Vistria Group, a middle-market private
investment firm that seeks to deliver both financial returns and
societal impact.
With this investment, The Vistria Group will support Ora as the
globally preferred clinical research partner of ophthalmic
innovators. It also marks The Vistria Group’s commitment to further
supporting cutting-edge therapies and advancing diversity in
specialized clinical research. Ora is the seventh company in The
Vistria Group’s pharma services portfolio and underscores the
firm’s continued focus on life sciences.
“Ora is a leader in ophthalmic clinical research, and we are
delighted to partner with the Ora team in the next chapter of its
growth. We invested in Ora because of its strong globally
recognized brand, demonstrated innovation, service excellence, and
tenured team of ophthalmology veterans, many who have worked
together for decades, leading to an unparalleled record bringing
over 85 drugs and devices to market,” says Natasha Latif, Partner
for Healthcare at The Vistria Group. “We are excited to build on
Ora’s track record of success of partnering with customers and
bringing new life-enhancing treatments to patients around the
world.”
Ora’s President, Chairman & CEO, Stuart Abelson will
transition to Ora’s board of directors where he will focus on
vision, strategy, customer relationships and organizational
culture. Paul Colvin, who has served as Ora’s Chief Operating
Officer for the past year and a half and a veteran CRO leader with
over 30 years of experience, will become Ora’s CEO.
Stuart Abelson noted, “We are proud to have built a company
where the best talent in ophthalmology comes to work and thrive. At
Ora, we prioritize our employees and place the patient at the
center of everything we do. This approach allows us to serve our
clients and support our research sites to deliver the highest
quality data, ensuring each drug and device has the best chance of
success. Ora’s brand is renowned globally as the go-to place for
ophthalmology research, and we are honored to support many of the
most exciting and impactful development programs across all
ophthalmic indications. The Vistria Group’s investment will allow
us to continue scaling Ora’s global operations and implementing
advanced technologies to support ophthalmology innovators in
developing the next generation of products. With Paul Colvin as
CEO, Ora is well positioned for its next phase of growth,
leveraging his extensive experience in leading large CROs.”
Paul Colvin, Ora CEO, stated, “After a year and a half at Ora, I
have come to appreciate why we are able to attract the best talent
and deliver next-level service for clients. Our therapeutic focus,
innovative research methods, models, scales, global research site
network, and tenured team deliver an unparalleled customer
experience that creates the high-quality reproducible data
essential for our clients to efficiently develop their products.
Our longstanding leadership team is fully engaged and excited about
The Vistria Group’s investment. We remain committed to upholding
the Ora experience that our clients have come to expect, ensuring
continuity, innovation, and excellence as we embark on this new
chapter together.”
About Ora
Ora is the world’s leading full-service ophthalmic drug and
device development firm with offices in the United States, United
Kingdom, Australia, and Asia. For over 45 years, we have proudly
helped our clients earn more than 85 product approvals. We support
a wide array of organizations, from start-ups to global
pharmaceutical and device companies, to efficiently bring their new
products from concept to market. Ora’s clinical models, unique
methodologies, and global regulatory strategies have been refined
and proven across thousands of global projects. We bring together
the world’s most extensive and experienced team of ophthalmic
experts, R&D professionals, and management executives to
maximize the value of new product initiatives. For more
information, please visit http://www.oraclinical.com and follow us
on LinkedIn.
About The Vistria Group
The Vistria Group is building a new kind of private investment
firm that seeks to deliver both financial returns and societal
impact. It invests in essential industries like healthcare,
knowledge & learning solutions, financial services and housing
that deliver value for investors as well as communities, employees,
and consumers. With over $12.9 billion in AUM, The Vistria Group
looks deeper by working as a true partner, drawing on its deep
sector knowledge, operational expertise, unique network, diverse
team, and impact orientation to achieve transformational growth.
For more information, please visit www.vistria.com.
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MEDIA Anne Marie Jedraszczak
ajedraszczak@oraclinical.com