What Chase Search and Selection does

CHASE (legal name CHASE People, operating as Chase Search and Selection) is a privately held UK life sciences recruitment and contract sales organisation founded in 1998 and headquartered in Edinburgh, with 251-500 employees. The company provides outsourced commercial, medical and clinical teams, specialist permanent/contract/executive recruitment, and intelligence-led market insights to pharmaceutical, medtech and biotech companies operating in the UK. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Medacy Ltd, CHASE also deploys more than 60 permanently employed clinical pharmacists directly into NHS GP practices, Primary Care Networks, Integrated Care Boards and hospital trusts, delivering over 500,000 patient interactions annually and enabling NHS-industry partnership programmes, patient support services and clinical trial support.

CHASE operates exclusively within the UK and generates revenue across six streams: outsourced teams (managed services), specialist recruitment (placement fees), market insights (advisory/HSJ Advisory partnership), patient services and NHS partnerships (project fees), clinical trial support (staffing and project delivery), and Medacy pharmacist-led clinical services (managed care contracts). Pricing is quote-based and bespoke rather than tiered or self-service, reflecting an enterprise sales-led GTM motion delivered through Business Development and Customer Solutions Directors engaging UK commercial directors, HR business partners and NHS commissioning leads. Distribution is direct enterprise and NHS commissioning only, with no retail or self-service channels.

The company's technology layer is people-centric rather than platform-centric: there are no proprietary technology products disclosed, and differentiation is built on regulatory credentials (CQC regulation, ABPI/ABHI/EMIG memberships, Cyber Essentials, EcoVadis), the Medacy embedded clinical workforce, NHS relationships and a partnership with HSJ Advisory providing licensed NHS data. The customer base spans ten named large pharma enterprises (Abbott, AstraZeneca, GSK, Roche, Novo Nordisk, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Regeneron, AbbVie, Galderma), NHS organisations and select medtech clients. The company is backed by Vespa Capital (2016 investment) and led by CEO Graham Hawthorn, COO Emma Busby and CFO Danny McCormick.

Name

Chase Search and Selection

Legal name

CHASE People

Website

https://chasepeople.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Chase Search and Selection is a UK-only life sciences recruitment and outsourced services firm that builds commercial, medical and clinical teams for pharma, medtech and biotech clients, and operates Medacy to deploy clinical pharmacists into NHS settings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Sciences Recruitment & Workforce Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare & Life Sciences Leadership Search (BPACAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops) (BPACAAAB)

Keywords

• Life sciences recruitment
• Outsourced sales teams
• NHS industry partnerships
• Pharmaceutical staffing services
• Clinical trial support

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Outsourced Teams: CHASE builds and manages commercial, medical, and clinical teams for pharmaceutical, medtech and biotech companies. Revenue is generated through staffing fees, employment management, and operational delivery services. They deploy omnichannel sales teams, market access teams, nurse teams, MSL teams, medtech teams, and animal health teams.
2. Specialist Recruitment: Permanent, contract and executive search recruitment services across commercial and clinical functions in UK life sciences. Revenue generated through placement fees, typically contingent on successful candidate placement.
3. Market Insights: Intelligence-led support including market access insight, workforce intelligence, NHS landscape analysis, and strategic advisory. Provided as bespoke research services and advisory engagements, often in partnership with HSJ Advisory.
4. Patient Services and NHS Partnerships: Design and delivery of NHS-industry partnership programmes, patient support programmes, and directly commissioned NHS services. Revenue from project fees, programme management, and clinical service delivery.
5. Clinical Trial Support: End-to-end clinical trial support including feasibility, site identification, patient recruitment, clinical team staffing, and project management. Revenue from staffing services and project delivery fees.
6. Medacy Pharmacist-Led Services: Sister company Medacy provides pharmacist-led clinical services deployed into GP practices, PCNs, ICBs and hospital trusts. Revenue from clinical pharmacist deployment services and managed care contracts.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Chase Search and Selection (CHASE) is a UK life sciences recruitment and contract sales organisation that builds, manages, and recruits commercial, medical, and clinical teams for pharmaceutical, medtech, and biotech companies. It also designs and delivers NHS-industry partnerships, patient programmes, NHS-commissioned clinical services, and clinical trial support, with sister company Medacy providing pharmacist-led clinical services directly into NHS primary care settings.

Product overview

CHASE is a life sciences recruitment and staffing company offering a portfolio of interconnected services. The core offerings are divided into Commercial Services (outsourced teams, specialist recruitment, and market insights for pharma/medtech/biotech companies) and Patient Services (NHS-industry partnerships, patient programmes, NHS-commissioned clinical services, and clinical trial support). Sister company Medacy provides pharmacist-led clinical services directly into NHS settings. The Graduate Academy rounds out the offering with entry-level talent. The company operates exclusively in the UK market with over 25 years of expertise connecting the right people with the right opportunities within life sciences, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CHASE Graduate Academy: Graduate talent pipeline bringing new energy and fresh thinking to clients in life sciences recruitment.
• Medacy

Products and services

• Commercial Services Umbrella service covering outsourced teams, specialist recruitment, and market insights for pharmaceutical, medtech and biotech companies operating in the UK market.
• Outsourced Teams Build and deploy high-performing commercial, medical and clinical teams across the UK, including omnichannel sales teams, market access teams, commercial pharmacist teams, nurse teams, MSL teams, executive teams, medtech teams, and animal health teams.
• Recruitment Permanent, contract and executive search across every commercial function in UK life sciences, covering commercial and sales, marketing and commercial operations, executive search, medtech and diagnostics, market access, medical affairs, biotech, and contract and interim roles.
• Insights Intelligence-led support for commercial strategy including market access insight, workforce intelligence, NHS landscape analysis, field team research, therapy area insights, ICS/ICB/PCN engagement insights, patient insights and real-world evidence, and market intelligence reports.
• Patient Services Umbrella service covering NHS-industry partnerships, patient programmes, NHS-commissioned services, and clinical trial support, designed to improve patient access to medicines and support clinical pathways.
• NHS-Industry Partnerships Design and deliver collaborative projects between NHS organisations and pharmaceutical, medtech and biotech companies, generating improved patient outcomes, more efficient NHS operations and stronger alignment with industry goals.
• Patient Programmes Bespoke patient support and education programmes delivered by specialist clinical teams including specialist nurses, prescribing clinical pharmacists, dietitians, healthcare educators, and programme and case managers.
• NHS-Commissioned Services Scalable clinical support delivered directly into NHS settings including patient identification and recall, vaccination and immunisation programmes, cancer screening programmes, primary care capacity support, and public health programmes.
• Clinical Trial Support End-to-end clinical trial support including feasibility and site identification, patient recruitment and retention, clinical research team staffing, site and project management, and research-naive site development.
• Medacy Pharmacist-Led Clinical Services Sister company providing pharmacist-led clinical services directly into NHS primary care settings, supporting over 100 GP practices, PCNs, ICBs and hospital trusts with over 60 permanently employed pharmacists delivering more than 500,000 patient interactions annually.
• Graduate Academy Graduate talent pipeline bringing new energy and fresh thinking to clients, helping them build their talent advantage through entry-level recruitment into life sciences.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% retention rate after 12 months for deployed teams
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HSJ AdvisorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHASE has partnered with HSJ Advisory to offer a uniquely integrated service for NHS-industry programme design and delivery. HSJ Advisory brings licensed NHS data intelligence including Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and prescribing data, while CHASE and Medacy provide clinical team deployment and operational expertise. The partnership offers a five-step delivery model: strategic design using NHS data, specialist implementation, objective guidance through independent validation, sustainable legacy building, and market awareness through HSJ's platforms.
• Medacy LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedacy is CHASE's sister company providing pharmacist-led clinical services. While technically a separate entity, Medacy's clinical pharmacist network of 60+ professionals deployed across GP practices, PCNs, ICBs and hospital trusts is integral to CHASE's service offering. Medacy provides the clinical grounding and NHS presence that enables CHASE's NHS-industry partnerships, patient services, and insights capabilities.
• NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHASE maintains active relationships with NHS Integrated Care Boards throughout England for commissioned clinical services, patient programmes, and NHS-industry partnerships. These relationships enable delivery of vaccination programmes, screening initiatives, and population health interventions.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Skills Alliance: Life sciences-focused recruitment and executive search firm serving pharma, biotech and medtech with permanent and contract placements; comparable offering and customer base to CHASE.
• Real Staffing: Life sciences, healthcare and clinical research staffing provider operating in the UK; competes directly with CHASE on pharma, biotech and CRO talent placements and outsourced resourcing.
• Morgan Prestwich: Executive search firm specialising in senior leadership appointments within life sciences, biotech and pharmaceutical organisations — overlapping directly with CHASE's executive search practice.
• Cpl Life Sciences: International life sciences talent solutions provider covering pharma, biotech, medtech and CRO hiring; comparable in both recruitment and outsourced/contract service lines.
• EPM Scientific: Specialist life sciences recruitment firm focused on commercial, clinical and executive search across pharma, biotech and medtech — a direct competitor to CHASE in UK life sciences staffing and executive search.

Broad incumbents

• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search and leadership advisory with a dedicated life sciences practice; competes for senior pharma, biotech and medtech appointments and broader leadership advisory engagements.
• Hays Life Sciences: UK arm of global recruitment group Hays with a dedicated life sciences practice; broader portfolio but directly competes with CHASE on pharma, biotech and medtech placements.
• Korn Ferry: Global organisational consulting firm with executive search and talent acquisition capabilities including a life sciences practice; competes for senior pharma leadership mandates that CHASE's executive search team also targets.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm with a healthcare and life sciences practice; competes for board, CEO and senior leadership searches with pharma and medtech clients across Europe.

Emerging players

• IQVIA: Global CRO and life sciences services firm whose clinical research staffing and site-network capabilities overlap with CHASE's clinical trial support and outsourced research nurse offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CHASEpeople
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chase-people
• Instagraminstagram.com/chase.people/#

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chase Search and Selection