Helios Global Group
Helios Global Group is a UK-headquartered healthcare communications group of ~300 staff across five UK and US offices, serving top-10 pharmaceutical and emerging biotech clients with strategic consultancy, medical and scientific communications, commercialisation solutions, and HEOR/market access services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersAlderley Edge, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Helios Global Group does
Helios Global Group is a UK-headquartered, privately held healthcare communications company founded in 2015 by three scientists—Andrew Minnock (CEO), Emma Bryant, and Simon Whiteley—operating a family of agencies (Helios, Selene, Apollo in the US, and Cogentia) that deliver omnichannel scientific communications, strategic consultancy, commercialisation solutions, and HEOR/market access services to global pharmaceutical and emerging biotechnology clients. The group employs approximately 300 staff across five offices (Alderley Edge, Manchester, Cambridge, Oxford, and Guilford, CT) and reports >65% of its client-facing team hold PhDs or higher scientific degrees, with annual employee retention of ≥90%. The business model is professional services: project- and retainer-based engagements sold directly into enterprise pharma and biotech clients, with consistent embedded account teams operating as extensions of client medical affairs, marketing, and market access functions.
Helios is backed by private equity, having received growth capital from NorthEdge in 2021 before transitioning its investment partnership to Telemos Capital in October 2024; the acquisition of Cogentia in February 2024 added Cambridge-based health economics, outcomes research, and market access capabilities. Technology is not a proprietary platform but standard enterprise IT for project management, document management, CRM, and finance; differentiation is driven by scientific talent depth, long-tenured client relationships (one top-10 pharma account has been active for 10+ years), and a client Net Promoter Score of 84. The group holds GDPR/ICO registrations across its UK operating subsidiaries and an EcoVadis Silver Medal for sustainability, and is positioned as a mid-market consolidator in the European healthcare communications category.
Helios Global Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Helios Global Group
- Legal name
- Helios Global Group Limited
- Website
- https://heliosglobalgroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Helios Global Group is a UK-headquartered healthcare communications group of ~300 staff across five UK and US offices, serving top-10 pharmaceutical and emerging biotech clients with strategic consultancy, medical and scientific communications, commercialisation solutions, and HEOR/market access services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Helios Global Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Healthcare Communications Services
- NAICS
- Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)
- SIC
- Services-Health Services (8000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Medical Affairs, Scientific Communications & HEOR FSP (HLAGAOAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Health Economics & Outcomes Research (HEOR) (HLAIAKAB)
Keywords
Where Helios Global Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Alderley Edge
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices5 records
Markets served
Helios Global Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Healthcare Communications Services: Professional services revenue from delivering omnichannel healthcare communications programmes including strategic consultancy, medical and scientific communications, commercialisation solutions, and evidence/value/market access services to pharmaceutical and biotech clients.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Helios Global Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Helios Global Group is a family of healthcare communications agencies (Helios, Selene, Apollo and Cogentia) that delivers strategic consultancy, medical and scientific communications, commercialisation solutions, and evidence, value and market access services to global pharmaceutical and biotech clients. The group supports clients across the product lifecycle — from scientific communications and medical affairs, through commercialisation, to health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) and market access.
Product overview
Helios Global Group is a family of healthcare communications agencies consisting of Helios (core agency), Selene, Apollo (US operations), and Cogentia (acquired HEOR and market access specialist). The group operates as a unified platform providing omnichannel healthcare communications solutions including strategic consultancy, medical and scientific communications, commercialisation solutions, and evidence, value and market access services. Cogentia was acquired in February 2024 to add health economics and outcomes research capabilities to the group's service portfolio.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Selene Medical Communications: Medical communications agency within Helios Global Group focused on delivering impactful and scientifically driven healthcare communications.
- Apollo Medical Communications
- Cogentia
Products and services
- Strategic Consultancy Strategy-led consultancy for pharmaceutical and biotech clients, guiding franchise and portfolio strategy from Day 1 and bringing new perspectives to every project.
- Medical and Scientific Communications Impact-led medical communications underpinned by deep sector and disease-area expertise, including publication planning, medical education and congress activities for global pharma and biotech clients.
- Commercialisation Solutions Product, disease-area and scientific expertise combined to deliver creative and impactful commercialisation solutions, including commercial planning and launch support for pharmaceutical products.
- Evidence, Value and Market Access HEOR and market access services delivered through Cogentia, including opportunity assessment, market access strategy, early economic modelling, payer engagement, HTA submissions, pricing and reimbursement negotiations, evidence generation and value communication for pharmaceutical companies across cell and gene therapies, rare diseases and other major therapeutic areas.
Quantifiable outcome
- ≥90% annual employee retention rate
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Helios Global Group
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Helios Global Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Helios Global Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Cogentia Healthcare Consulting LimitedcoreHEOR and market access specialist acquired by Helios in February 2024. Based in Cambridge, recognised as one of the UK's leading market access consultancies. Adds health economics and outcomes research capabilities to the Helios group, providing greater insights for clients around product launch and patient uptake. Cogentia works across numerous therapeutic areas in global markets.
- Apollo Medical CommunicationscoreSubsidiary of Helios Global Group based in Guilford, CT, USA. Part of the family of agencies (Helios, Selene, Apollo, Cogentia) delivering impactful and scientifically driven healthcare communications globally.
- Selene Medical CommunicationscoreSubsidiary agency of Helios Global Group. Led by Ioana Edgeworth, Helios' very first employee. Part of the family of agencies delivering omnichannel healthcare communications. Established approximately 5 years after Helios was founded.
Scale indicators16 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Helios Global Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AMICULUM: Independent healthcare communications agency group with multiple specialist brands serving pharma and biotech clients globally. Closely comparable structure of multiple specialist agencies under a unified group.
- Fishawack Health: Private equity-backed family of healthcare communications agencies offering medical communications, consulting, and commercialisation services to global pharma clients. Highly comparable to Helios in scope, scale, and PE-backed growth model.
- OPEN Health: Global healthcare communications and market access group combining medical communications, HEOR, and real-world evidence services. Direct competitor across Helios' core and Cogentia-acquired capabilities.
- Adelphi Group (Adelphi Healthcare Communications): Privately held healthcare communications group providing medical communications, market access, and real-world evidence services to pharma clients across multiple therapy areas.
- Caudex (McCann Health): Medical communications and scientific engagement agency within McCann Health, serving pharma clients with publication planning and scientific content. Comparable in core medical communications focus.
- Lucid Group: UK-headquartered healthcare communications group providing medical communications and consultancy services to pharma clients. Comparable in geography, service mix, and customer base.
Broad incumbents
- Syneos Health Communications: Large contract research and commercialisation organisation with a dedicated communications practice. Comparable in serving pharma clients across the lifecycle, though broader and more diversified than Helios.
- Real Chemistry: Large, US-based healthcare marketing and communications firm offering creative, communications, and data-driven services to pharma and biotech. Overlaps with Helios' commercialisation solutions but operates at broader scale with deeper US presence.
- Precision Medicine Group: PE-backed specialty services group covering medical communications, market access, and HEOR for biotech and pharma. Comparable in market access and HEOR depth following Cogentia acquisition.
- Evoke (Ashfield Health): Global health communications and commercialisation agency network (formerly Ashfield Health) offering medical communications, patient engagement, and consulting across pharma. Overlaps with Helios' strategic consultancy and communications offerings.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Helios Global Group social profiles
Digital presenceHelios Global Group compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Helios Global Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Helios Global Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Helios Global Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Helios Global Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Helios Global Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Helios Global Group
What does Helios Global Group do?
Helios Global Group is a family of healthcare communications agencies (Helios, Selene, Apollo and Cogentia) that delivers strategic consultancy, medical and scientific communications, commercialisation solutions, and evidence, value and market access services to global pharmaceutical and biotech clients. The group supports clients across the product lifecycle — from scientific communications and medical affairs, through commercialisation, to health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) and market access.
Is Helios Global Group a public or private company?
Helios Global Group is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Helios Global Group founded?
Helios Global Group was founded in 2015. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Helios Global Group based?
Helios Global Group is headquartered in Alderley Edge, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Helios Global Group make money?
One revenue line is on record: healthcare Communications Services.
Who are Helios Global Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AMICULUM, Fishawack Health, OPEN Health, Adelphi Group (Adelphi Healthcare Communications), Caudex (McCann Health) and Lucid Group. Broad incumbents are Syneos Health Communications, Real Chemistry, Precision Medicine Group and Evoke (Ashfield Health).
Does Helios Global Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Helios Global Group.
What industry is Helios Global Group in?
Helios Global Group's product category is Healthcare Communications Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAOAG, Medical Affairs, Scientific Communications & HEOR FSP, with a secondary code of HLAIAKAB, Health Economics & Outcomes Research (HEOR). Its NAICS code is 5416 and its SIC code is 8000.