Validant, a global quality, compliance and regulatory consulting group (the Group), has acquired Greenleaf Health Inc. (Greenleaf), a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory consulting firm. Concurrent with the acquisition, Validant announced the appointment of Patrick Ronan, founder and former CEO of Greenleaf, as the new CEO of Validant.
 
Greenleaf Health provides strategic and technical guidance to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies researching, developing, and manufacturing innovative solutions to pressing global public health challenges. Greenleaf’s team of experts draw on a combined total of more than 300 years of FDA experience to deliver reliable, objective advice to FDA-regulated companies. Founded in 2007, Greenleaf is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
 
Validant’s acquisition of Greenleaf is another important step in its international growth strategy, focused on combining best-in-class regulatory and quality providers, and accelerating their growth with further investment. The accelerated growth strategy is supported by GHO Capital, the European specialist investor in healthcare, having partnered with Validant since December 2018. Today’s announcement follows Validant’s acquisition of Oriel STAT A MATRIX, a New Jersey-based global consultancy and training firm; its November 2020 acquisition of IDEC, a leading regulatory consultancy in Japan; and the acquisition of DataRevive in 2019, a regulatory strategy and consultancy for global clients, based in Washington D.C.
 
Commenting on the announcement, the partners at GHO Capital, said: “We are delighted to welcome the entire Greenleaf team to Validant. They bring a wealth of complementary experience and expertise to the Group and the combination is set to benefit the customers of both companies. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian Burns for his support and leadership in overseeing the rapid growth of Validant. We are excited to continue this trajectory under Patrick’s leadership and believe that his experience and passion will help consolidate our position as the leading global life science regulatory consultancy.”
 
Patrick Ronan brings more than 25 years of leadership experience to his role as CEO of Validant. Prior to founding Greenleaf in 2007, Patrick served as vice president of Regulatory Policy & External Affairs at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, where he supervised U.S. regulatory policy issues and advised all therapeutic areas on FDA-related regulatory matters. Ronan’s extensive experience includes leadership roles at the FDA where he served as chief of Staff and assistant commissioner of Legislation; on Capitol Hill, where he served as a member of the Professional Staff to the Committee on Energy and Commerce; and the Washington, D.C.-based Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).
 
“Greenleaf Health enhances the expertise and capabilities of Validant as we work to support clients and their evolving global regulatory needs. I am excited to serve in the role of CEO and bring our teams together as we create a platform for continued growth and success,” Ronan said.
 
Fairmount Partners provided investment banking and advisory services, and Goodwin Procter provided legal advice to Greenleaf Health.
 
OMM provided legal advice, RSM Global provided financial and accounting advice, and Deloitte provided tax advice to Validant.