Established in 2019 by Dr Ian Smith and Professor John Lyon, Panthera operates six sites across the UK, providing services including trial planning, patient recruitment, data collection and patient retention. The company is recognised for its ability to recruit patients at speed and provide sponsors with certainty around study delivery, streamlining the route to commercialisation.
LDC is supporting Panthera’s existing management team, led by CEO Stuart Young, who remain in place and are committed to accelerating the business’s next phase of growth. With LDC’s support, Panthera will seek to further expand its operations in the UK and Europe, increase its number of clinical sites, invest in technology, and scale its trial delivery capabilities.
The DWF team advising LDC was led by corporate partner Will Munday who is part of the Northern Corporate team that has advised on over £3.5 billion worth of transactions in the North West during H1 2025.
Will said: "It was a pleasure to advise LDC on this significant investment into Panthera Biopartners. The business has carved out a strong leadership position within the clinical trials sector, and this deal will support its continued innovation and growth at a pivotal time for the industry."
Grant Goodwin, Investment Director at LDC, said: "Patient recruitment and dropout rates have historically been one of the biggest hurdles to efficient clinical trial processes and it’s this challenge that Panthera has proven it can solve. Stuart and his excellent team have built a trusted operation with well-established client relationships. We’re looking forward to supporting them as they pursue their growth strategy.”
