IPS Pharma

The business Headquartered in West Molesey, Surrey, IPS is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of bespoke medicines or “Specials”, standard drug compounds adapted to meet the needs of individual patients. Investment rationale Having been founded in 2001, IPS was a young, dynamic entrepreneurial business. Ashok Patel the founder was looking for help and support to move the company to the next level. The company had a low cost manufacturing base and delivered excellent quality and service but had limited sales and marketing infrastructure. Most customers were independent pharmacists within the M25. The opportunity was therefore to put in place the systems, processes, and people to grow the company both nationally and into the multiple pharmacy chains. What Happened The Fund sold its interests in IPS, in November 2014 to a secondary buy out led by Ashok Patel. The Specials market underwent significant change during Elysian’s investment with the introduction of a pricing tariff by the Department of Health which reduced the value of the market. However in the long term, this tariff benefits quality suppliers such as IPS. Elysian’s support for the company and continual investment into a scalable platform during these market changes ensured volumes increased significantly. Key changes included: Creation of a national salesforce with customers throughout the UK Expansion into major multiple accounts Implementation of a new IT system across the company Construction of a new laboratory, increasing capacity five times