Evestia's Power Play: A Masterclass in Building a Specialist CRO

LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY, United Kingdom – December 01, 2025 – In an increasingly crowded and consolidated Contract Research Organization (CRO) market, standing out requires more than just scale—it demands a clear, aggressive strategy built on specialized expertise. Evestia Clinical, a global specialist CRO backed by private equity firm Kester Capital, has just unveiled its blueprint for market disruption with the formation of a new Strategic Advisory Board (SAB). This isn't a routine corporate announcement; it's a calculated assembly of industry titans aimed at catapulting the mid-tier player into a leadership position in the complex, high-value therapeutic areas of oncology and neurology, while simultaneously unlocking the world's fastest-growing clinical trial market.

The Architects of Ambition

A look at the board's composition reveals a meticulously crafted strategy. Evestia has brought on four heavyweights whose collective experience directly maps to the company's growth pillars: global scaling, therapeutic depth, geographic expansion, and technological innovation.

Leading the charge on operational scale is Dr. Jim Esinhart, a name that resonates deeply within the CRO industry. As the former CEO of Chiltern International (now part of Fortrea), Dr. Esinhart orchestrated an 11-fold growth surge, transforming the company into a mid-market powerhouse with over $550 million in revenue. His playbook for scaling global operations is precisely what a company like Evestia needs to transition from a promising player to a dominant force. His involvement signals a serious intent to replicate that high-growth trajectory. "Evestia Clinical has a clear and ambitious strategy to build a focused, independent, global specialist CRO and I am pleased to support that journey," Dr. Esinhart commented, underscoring the board's alignment with the company's vision.

Guiding the company's crucial push into complex therapeutic areas are Dr. Carlo Lanza and Dr. Ignazio di Giovanna. Dr. Lanza, a trained oncologist with leadership experience at Novartis and Pfizer, currently serves as an Executive Medical Officer at Fortrea. His role is to sharpen Evestia's oncology framework, ensuring its services remain at the bleeding edge of cancer research—a field that dominates clinical development pipelines. Meanwhile, Dr. di Giovanna, Evestia's own VP of Scientific Affairs and a veteran in neuromuscular research, provides the deep scientific acumen needed to navigate the intricate landscape of neurodegenerative diseases like ALS. This dual focus on oncology and neurology targets two of the most challenging and well-funded areas of biopharmaceutical R&D.

Targeting the APAC Gold Rush

Perhaps the most forward-looking appointment is that of Dr. Robert Teoh, an internationally recognized neurologist who has founded and successfully exited three pan-Asian clinical CROs. His inclusion on the board is a clear signal of Evestia’s intent to capitalize on the seismic shift of clinical research towards the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

The APAC market is no longer just a cost-saving alternative; it's a strategic necessity. The region is home to 60% of the world's population, offering vast and genetically diverse patient pools that can significantly accelerate trial recruitment, especially for rare diseases and specific cancer subtypes. Countries like China and Japan are now central to global drug development, with regulatory bodies increasingly requiring local data for approvals. The APAC clinical trials market, valued at nearly $17 billion in 2024, is projected to more than double to over $34 billion by 2033. However, navigating this fragmented landscape of diverse regulations and cultures requires profound expertise. Dr. Teoh's track record in building successful CROs across this very terrain provides Evestia with an invaluable competitive advantage, turning a high-risk, high-reward venture into a calculated expansion.

Weaving AI into the Clinical Fabric

Beyond geographic and therapeutic specialization, the advisory board's mandate points to another critical pillar of modern drug development: the integration of Artificial Intelligence. Lewis Cameron, Evestia's CEO, explicitly noted "AI-enabled clinical trial delivery" as a key focus for the new board. This is not just a nod to a trending buzzword; it's a strategic imperative for survival and leadership in the CRO space.

AI is rapidly moving from a theoretical advantage to a practical tool for overcoming the industry's most persistent challenges. AI-powered platforms are already being used to optimize trial protocol design, drastically reducing costly amendments. They analyze vast electronic health records and real-world data to identify and recruit eligible patients with a speed and precision previously unattainable, tackling the primary cause of trial delays. The global market for AI in clinical trials is forecast to expand from under $3 billion today to over $8.5 billion by 2030, with a majority of trials expected to incorporate AI elements. By embedding this expertise at the advisory level, Evestia is positioning itself not just to adopt these technologies, but to guide biotech innovators on how to leverage them effectively for more efficient, patient-centric studies.

The Mid-Tier Power Play

Evestia's move is a masterstroke in the context of the broader CRO market, which is often dominated by a handful of multi-billion dollar giants and a sea of smaller, hyper-niche players. The company is carving out a defensible and highly valuable position as a "global mid-tier specialist." This strategy, backed by the life sciences-focused private equity firm Kester Capital, allows Evestia to offer the sophisticated, global infrastructure of a larger player while retaining the agility, focus, and patient-centric approach of a boutique firm.

Kester Capital's investment history, which includes backing a drug discovery software provider with AI technology and other specialized service companies, shows a clear thesis: build market leaders by focusing on high-growth, tech-enabled niches within life sciences. Evestia’s acquisition of Atlantic Research Group (ARG) earlier this year, and now the formation of this SAB, are decisive steps in executing that plan. As Paul Bishop, Chief Development Officer, noted, the board's experience strengthens the company's ability to "scale with purpose." For the biotech innovators Evestia serves—companies often working on the very edge of science with limited resources—this combination of deep expertise, global reach, and operational agility is a powerful proposition. Evestia is not just building a bigger company; it is building a smarter one, designed to thrive at the complex intersection of modern medicine and technology.