Spectrum Science Acquires Continuum Clinical, Amplifying Patient Recruitment Capabilities

Combined businesses unlock significant opportunity for clients with strategic, differentiated clinical trial recruitment, engagement and retention approaches, along with compelling creative solutions and best-in-class analytics

WASHINGTON and NORTHBROOK, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Spectrum Science, an independent, integrated healthcare and scientific marketing, communications, media and strategic services firm focused on the pharmaceutical, biotech and broader life science industries, today announced the acquisition of Continuum Clinical, a global clinical trial recruitment and engagement solutions provider with a 30-year track record of success elevating interest, increasing access and enhancing experiences in clinical trials. Spectrum purchased Continuum from Blue Chip Worldwide, an independent, full-service, creative marketing agency growing brands through creative commerce. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Continuum will merge with Spectrum's existing clinical trial recruitment (CTR) strategic pillar, bolstering the company's current offering in several critical ways, including adding overall depth and breadth of capabilities, as well as bringing a large and diverse client roster. Neil Weisman will continue in his role as president of Continuum Clinical, leading Spectrum's CTR strategic pillar and overseeing a combined team of more than 130 clinical solutions specialists.

Successfully enrolling participants into clinical trials has historically been one of the biggest challenges in drug development, with estimates suggesting more than 80% of trials have extended timelines, costing sponsors as much as $8 million a day in opportunity costs. While many companies are vying to solve this industrywide challenge, the patient recruitment sector has remained highly fragmented and commoditized, with few full-service, strategic solution providers, leading to disjointed patient experiences and dissatisfied sponsors.

"We are thrilled to welcome the extraordinarily talented and established Continuum Clinical team to Spectrum and cannot wait to see what we're able to accomplish together as a unified and powerful force in the patient recruitment space," said Jonathan Wilson, CEO of Spectrum Science. "Today's announcement has us poised to change the clinical trial recruitment and engagement landscape: Together our combined businesses make us one of the largest full-service recruitment providers in the industry. Even more notably, our shared perspective on the importance of putting patients first, leading with strategic insights that result in bespoke solutions and leveraging proprietary technology to create more frictionless experiences for all stakeholders, has us primed to make transformational impact for our clients and for the future of clinical trials."

In addition to its reputation as one of the industry's most trusted partners for clinical trial engagement, recruitment, retention and analytics, Continuum also brings to the partnership its MERIS™ Total Engagement Solution. MERIS is a suite of proprietary, globally compliant technology products designed to enable a seamless clinical trial experience for study participants and research sites, while producing real-time, actionable performance data for sponsors.

"We are delighted to join the Spectrum team and feel fortunate to have found a partner with capabilities and culture that marry so perfectly with our own," said Neil Weisman, president of Continuum Clinical. "Over the past several years, including with the introduction of MERIS, we've solidified our standing as a premier partner supporting both sponsors and patients from protocol development to study completion and beyond. The addition of Spectrum's foundation of scientific and strategic insights, paired with its flexible and efficient model to deliver show-stopping, needle-moving creative, means we can unlock even more value on a larger scale for more clients around the world." 

"We are extremely proud to have been able to support the growth of Continuum Clinical over the years and are pleased to have found a great new home for the company to continue to flourish," said Blue Chip Chairman and CEO, Stanton Kawer. "Spectrum's depth of health and scientific expertise and strategic rigor across all facets of their work including patient recruitment, communications, marketing, advertising, medical communications and more, makes it a great fit to nurture Continuum's own continued evolution."

This is the second acquisition Spectrum has completed since its strategic partnership with Knox Lane in 2023. The addition of Continuum Clinical strengthens Spectrum's fully integrated suite of strategic services, including clinical trial recruitment and retention, marketing, communications, medical communications, advertising and consulting.

At the 2024 Summit for Clinical Ops Executives (SCOPE), Sunday, Feb. 11-14, at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida, both Continuum and Spectrum will be sharing more about their shared vision for the future of patient recruitment at booths #507 and #138, respectively.

About Spectrum Science

Spectrum is an integrated marketing, communications and media firm like no other. An independent, full-service organization with end-to-end capabilities, Spectrum's team is made up of experts in healthcare and science — focused on strategic engagements that leverage human-centered insights, motivating creative, innovative storytelling and technology to reach audiences where they are with the content they need and want. In 2023, Spectrum was named North America Healthcare Agency of the Year by PRovoke Media and won the Heart Award from Med Ad News for its commitment to philanthropy and social causes. Spectrum offers global reach as the U.S. partner and chair of Global Health Marketing & Communications (GHMC). For more information on how Spectrum goes Beyond the Science Quo, visit www.spectrumscience.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, X and Instagram.

About Continuum Clinical

Continuum Clinical is a global clinical trial enrollment company that has been providing fact-based patient recruitment solutions since 1993. We have built and maintained long-standing relationships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies around the world, including 10 of the top 20 global sponsors. This experience led Continuum Clinical to become the industry's most trusted partner for clinical trial engagement, recruitment, retention and analytics. For more information, please visit https://continuumclinical.com/.

About Knox Lane

Based in San Francisco, Knox Lane is a growth-oriented investment firm comprised of a team of accomplished investors and operators with a shared work history and a strong track record of partnering with leading companies to accelerate transformational growth. Knox Lane seeks to provide support across a number of business components, including human capital, brand management, end-to-end digital transformation, sourcing, supply chain and logistics, strategic acquisitions and business development. For more information, please visit www.knoxlane.com.

SOURCE Spectrum Science