• by Larissa Faw , April 14, 2020

Healthcare marketing group W2O is acquiring Symplur, a social media analytics platform exclusively focused on the healthcare sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more vital to expedite the development of technology platforms to help track critical health-specific data and updates so the network accelerated the closing of this agreement.

Symplur’s social media analytics platform enables users to learn from the expertise shared publicly by patients, clinicians and other relevant stakeholders across social media. Symplur’s technology and intelligence reports are currently utilized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Currently W2O and Symplur are utilizing the platform to track COVID-19-specific conversations and trends across the healthcare ecosystem in collaboration with the California Life Sciences Association.

In the future, W2O plans to add features to the platform that will allow users to create custom segments of key audiences, other data types and analytical functionality to further benefit healthcare clients.

Under the deal, Symplur will now operate as W2O Symplur with co-founders Audun Utengen and Thomas Lee continuing to serve in leadership roles and as key participants in the development of the firm’s audience planning product suite.

W2O had already been working with the company as a client before the virus so it was familiar with its expertise and burgeoning opportunities. At the same time, Symplur had been talking to other agencies about potential partnerships, but ultimately chose W2O because Symplur leaders wanted to scale and felt W2O was the best strategic fit.

Both sides initiated talks prior to the crisis. “While we won’t disclose the terms of the deal, the terms negotiated prior to the COVID-19 pandemic were the same terms that were used during the closing,” explains Adam Cossman, Group President and managing partner, technology products & solutions, W2O. This acquisition, which was completed in partnership with W2O’s private equity partner New Mountain Capital, marks the firm’s fifth acquisition in nine months.