AMRC founding member Headlands Research has announced its pending acquisition by THL Partners, marking an important moment for both the organization and the broader clinical trials sector. The deal reflects the rapidly rising interest of the investment community in the future of multisite clinical research corporations (MCRCs).
Why the Interest?
The clinical research landscape is undergoing significant change. Advances in AI, data science, and computing power are accelerating drug development, while the demand for efficient, scalable, and patient-centered clinical trials continues to grow. Investors increasingly recognize that site networks, especially MCRCs, are critical to meeting these demands.
Unlike traditional independent sites, MCRCs deliver consistency, reliability, and scalability across geographies. By sharing best practices, investing in support functions, and aligning people and processes across sites, MCRCs are able to materially improve trial results while reducing the burden on sponsors and CROs.
As Headlands’ chief executive, Kyle Burtnett, put it: “The investment community believes in what MCRCs are doing—and they’re excited about it.”
Headlands’ Unique Strengths
Founded in 2018 with the backing of KKR, Headlands was built around a simple recognition: the biggest challenges in clinical development occur at the site level, particularly in patient recruitment and data reliability. From the start, the company pursued a purposeful growth strategy, acquiring sites one or two at a time, while also building greenfield sites to address unmet needs.
Kyle said, “When Headlands Research was founded, it was with a clear vision: to address the challenges sponsors and CROs face at the site level, where patient recruitment, data accuracy, and reliable performance ultimately make or break a trial. Backed by KKR, who had seen the operational bottlenecks faced by CROs, we set out to build something different.”
Headlands has established deep expertise across three therapeutic areas:
- CNS – advancing research into Alzheimer’s and other debilitating neurological conditions.
- Infectious Disease – extensive capabilities and experience running phase I-IV studies in the infectious disease therapeutic area.
- Cardiometabolic – investing in diabetes and obesity research, anticipating breakthroughs that are now transforming treatment options.
Today, the network spans 23 sites (19 in the US, 1 in Puerto Rico and 3 in Canada), with more than 600 employees. A hallmark of its model is the real-time knowledge sharing across therapeutic area leaders and site teams, ensuring best practices and study learnings flow across the entire network.
What THL Brings to the Table
THL Partners, with a strong track record in healthcare investments and pharmaceutical services, in particular, is well-positioned to fuel Headlands’ next chapter. Their backing will support:
- Continued network expansion through both acquisitions and de novo site development.
- Deeper partnerships with sponsors and CROs to deliver large, complex, multi-site trials.
- New perspectives and expertise drawn from THL’s broader healthcare portfolio.
Kyle added, “THL understands the foundation we’ve built and the opportunity ahead. They bring deep experience in healthcare, including a prior investment in a CRO, and share our excitement about how technology, AI, and better data are reshaping clinical development.”
As Headlands grows, it aims to meet client needs more effectively and scale clinical operations in a way that accelerates drug development and, ultimately, benefits patients. He added, “With THL’s support, we’ll expand our network further, through both acquisitions and new site development, while deepening our partnerships with sponsors and CROs to deliver large-scale, complex trials more efficiently.”
A Milestone for the Industry
For AMRC, this acquisition underscores a larger trend: investors see the MCRC model as the future of clinical research. While large, traditional organizations may take time to fully adopt it, private equity and growth investors increasingly recognize the operational and scientific advantages of multisite networks and how these corporations are delivering value for Sponsors and CROs.
On this topic, Kyle commented, “What makes me proudest is that we’ve stayed true to our belief that a site network should do more than manage volume; it should improve outcomes. By aligning people, processes, and best practices across sites, we’ve created a model that delivers more consistency and reliability for sponsors, CROs, and, most importantly, patients.”
As Headlands’ story shows, scaling clinical research in a thoughtful, data-driven, and patient-centered way accelerates the delivery of innovative therapies to those who need them most.
