About Us

Larka is a management consulting firm, exclusively dedicated to the Biotech and Pharma industry. We assist small Biotech or large Pharma companies, Contract Services Providers or Equipment Suppliers, Venture Capital or Private Equity firms, in their development or in managing complex situations.

Founded in France in 1993 by Lars Karlsson, a Franco-Swedish industrial pharmacist, Larka leverages a Scandinavian legacy of high-quality standards. Our employees' quality of life matters, so does the quality of the services we provide to our clients.

Scientists by origin, strategists by nature and success makers by ambition, we have always addressed our clients' challenges with a holistic approach that embraces scientific awareness, technical operations, organizational design and strategic considerations. This unique combination of skills gives our clients competitive advantages and creates greater returns to their shareholders.

The pharma and biotech environment is unique and complex. We strongly believe that scientific and technical aspects are key elements to build actionable strategies that deliver sustainable performances. This is why at Larka we have always been recruiting engineers, industrial pharmacists and PhDs with biochemical background who team-up with business and marketing experts.

Finally, we complement our expertise with digital innovators and data scientists who are constantly developing state-of-the-art IT tools to monitor and analyze our industry better and faster allowing us to achieve extraordinary results within unbeatable timeframes.

Key milestones

Scientists by origin...

TechOps & Outsourcing

1993

Lars Karlsson creates LarKa, with one single objective:

"Helping Pharma & Biotech companies deliver clinical and commercial drugs on a safer, more timely and cost-effective way."

Activities focused on two specialties:

Optimization of outsourcing process, sourcing and technical assessment of Contract Services Organizations - CRO, CDMO, CMO, Testing lab.

Technical assessment and optimization of in-house R&D, Analytical and Manufacturing operations, including CMC activities, quality systems & regulatory compliance.

Digital innovators…

E-sourcing 1.0

2001

Larka develops the first version of Lenstrat® based on 8 years of data collection, monitoring and analysis of the global Contract Services market.

The e-sourcing platform is an on-line database equipped with a search engine that allows Larka to collect, sort and monitor various data related to CRO, CDMO and CMO, including capacities, and financial figures.

Strategists by nature…

Marketing & Sales

2003

Marketing & Sales consultancy emerges from 10 years of experience, data collection and digital innovation in outsourcing activities and suppliers' assessment.

Contract Services Organisations and suppliers can leverage Larka's unique knowledge and positioning within the BioPharma space, to develop and implement the most relevant and sustainable marketing strategy and sales organization.

Digital evolution…

E-sourcing 2.0

2008

Larka implements additional IT tools to optimize data collection and analysis, such as complex algorithms or automated query.

In addition, Larka enlarges e-sourcing plateform data coverage to outsourcing collaboration - R&D and commercial supply -, CapEx, M&A activity and ownership.

Success makers by ambition...

Corporate strategy and M&A

2010

Combining Technical, Operational and Commercial expertise within the Biotech and Pharma industry, Corporate Strategy and M&A is the obvious next step in Larka's development.

Larka offers to industrial and financial players, a unique ability to cover the whole spectrum of the BioPharma industryand it's intricacies - Technical Operations & Outsourcing activities, Operational Excellence, Quality & Regulatory, Marketing & Sales and Commercial Excellence.

Artificial Intelligence…

E-sourcing 3.0

2019

Larka develops an artificial intelligence and big data platform and launches LenstratTM. LenstratTM provides industry leaders with technical, financial and business data, news and analytics on the Biotech, Pharma, Contract Services and suppliers industry. LenstratTM gives decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to accurate information, insights and ideas.

Let's build the future together

Our values

Our corporate culture is based on the five elemental values which have been building Larka since its origins. They constitute the foundation of our professional work, our interaction with our clients, business partners and employees, and define our entire corporate culture: