PROVECA:
MEDICINES FOR CHILDREN

Proveca’s journey from a visionary startup to a leader in paediatric medicine is a case study in how innovation, strong partnerships, and operational excellence can drive transformative change in the pharmaceutical industry.

Founded by Dr. Simon Bryson and Dr. Helen Shaw in 2010, Proveca was built to address the long-overlooked needs of children, who were often prescribed diluted adult medications that didn’t meet their unique medical requirements.

While Proveca’s scientific and regulatory milestones are impressive, Bryson and Shaw thank FACT3 for their support which enabled them to scale effectively. From financial oversight to IT transformation and People strategy, FACT3’s support has been instrumental in enabling Proveca’s growth across Europe and beyond.

The Vision

In 2010, Simon and Helen set out with a mission to revolutionise paediatric medicine by developing child-specific drugs that would replace the practice of diluting adult formulations. With personal investments and a small, dedicated team, they began the journey to create life-changing products tailored for children’s specific clinical needs. By identifying unmet needs and navigating the complex regulatory environment, they secured venture capital funding and began laying the foundation for Proveca’s success.

Your team becomes our team

Building a Financial and IT Foundation

From the outset, Proveca recognised that strong operational support was essential for achieving their goals. In 2011, Proveca partnered with FACT3, who became their comprehensive financial and IT backbone.

FACT3 initially provided a wide range of financial services, from monthly management information to sales and purchase ledger management, payroll, and VAT returns, giving Proveca a stable platform to focus on their product development and providing investors with a visual representation of Proveca’s financial health and forecasting.

Alongside financial support, FACT3’s Systems team began building Proveca’s initial IT infrastructure. This straightforward, simple IT setup was designed to be cost-effective and highly functional, supporting their focus on obtaining the crucial PUMA licence for their first product which would alleviate symptoms associated with neurodevelopmental conditions in children.

Financial Scaling: A Key to Growth

As Proveca grew, so did the demands on its financial infrastructure. By 2013, following successful funding rounds and a more intensive venture capital strategy, Proveca appointed Andrew Jackson as their CFO to guide their financial direction. The growing complexity of their business required a more sophisticated financial strategy. FACT3 met this demand by ensuring Proveca’s finances were managed with precision and clarity.

With the commercialisation of their first product in 2016, and the expansion into European territories, FACT3 continued to scale its support. By 2019, Proveca’s financial team had grown to four dedicated FACT3 professionals, including:

1. Bookkeeper/Financial Controller

2. Management Accountant

3. Purchase Ledger Specialist

4. Chief Finance Officer

This graph displays the increase in the number of days per month that the Numbers team dedicate to Proveca.

Your goals become our goals

IT Evolution

While Proveca’s initial IT infrastructure was designed to support their early-stage operations, 2017 marked a turning point as the company began commercialising its product and expanding internationally. As Proveca entered new markets—including Ireland, France, Italy and Germany —its IT needs became more complex.

To address this, FACT3’s Systems team implemented a hybrid IT approach that allowed Proveca to maintain a secure, scalable, and highly productive infrastructure across multiple countries. This was critical as Proveca began hiring more employees in diverse regions. A streamlined onboarding process was developed to ensure that all new employees, regardless of location, could hit the ground running from their first day.

This hybrid approach combined cloud-based solutions and local systems to ensure that Proveca had the flexibility to operate seamlessly across borders. Cybersecurity was a top priority, with FACT3 ensuring that Proveca met stringent standards by achieving Cyber Essentials certification, protecting sensitive data, and mitigating risks associated with cyber threats.

Transformation Projects and Ongoing Support

FACT3’s Systems team also led key IT transformation projects designed to support Proveca’s evolving business needs. These projects included upgrading their infrastructure to support secure remote access for international employees and deploying collaboration tools that enhanced productivity across different time zones and markets.

To ensure ongoing success, FACT3 provided employee training on new systems and processes, enabling the Proveca team to stay up to date on the latest technologies and cybersecurity best practices. An accessible helpdesk was also established, allowing employees to resolve technical issues quickly and focus on their core responsibilities. With FACT3 managing IT operations, Proveca’s teams were empowered to concentrate on what they do best— developing essential medicines designed for children.

Blended works better

Embedding Culture and Compliance from Day One

As Proveca moved towards commercialisation in 2017, the growth of the team became a critical factor in the company’s continued success. With fewer than 20 employees at the time, Proveca made the strategic decision to engage FACT3’s HR services to ensure that the focus on culture, compliance, and employee well-being was embedded from the outset of their growth journey.

FACT3 People Partner, Jayne began to lay the foundation for the company’s people operations. Her leadership ensured that as Proveca grew, they maintained a strong focus on culture and compliance, helping to create an environment where employees felt supported and aligned with the company’s mission.

Building a People-First Strategy

As the company expanded into new territories across Europe and beyond, the need for a more robust HR structure became clear. By 2019, Proveca’s headcount had grown significantly, necessitating additional support within the HR function. FACT3 introduced HR Executive, Amy, who took on the responsibility of managing administrative tasks and helped implement initiatives such as culture workshops and ongoing employee training.

Amy’s involvement allowed Proveca to formalise its approach to talent management and employee engagement, ensuring that the company’s values— of being a family of passionate pioneers—were reinforced across the company. Jayne, continuing her leadership in HR, was promoted to Chief People Officer and joined the Executive team, further solidifying the strategic importance of HR at Proveca.

Proveca’s headcount has grown significantly since 2016

2021 and Beyond

By 2021, Proveca’s workforce had expanded to over 40 employees across Europe, and the development of a comprehensive People Strategy became a key priority. With Amy moving into the HR Advisor role and Lee brought on as the new HR Executive, the HR team was positioned to support Proveca’s next phase of growth.

Over the past three years, as the company has grown to more than 65 employees (from 2021 to 2024), the HR team has delivered a wide range of strategic initiatives aimed at fostering employee engagement, enhancing operational efficiency, and maintaining Proveca’s core values.

Key initiatives rolled out by the People team during this period include:

• Job Families and Pay & Rewards Structure:
  Introducing a clear career progression framework and competitive compensation package to attract and retain top talent.

• Smart Working:
  Implementing flexible working arrangements that cater to employees across different countries, ensuring work-life balance while maintaining productivity.

• Mentoring Programme:
  Launching a programme that fosters professional development and knowledge-sharing across departments, enabling employees to grow within the company.

• Values Statement Revamp:
  ”We are a family of passionate pioneers” ethos to reflect the company’s culture and mission.

• Management Programme:
  Providing leadership training to develop effective managers and equip them with the skills needed to lead Proveca’s growing teams.

• Recruitment Efficiency:
  Streamlining the recruitment process to make it cost-effective, while attracting top-tier talent to support Proveca’s expansion.

• Salary Benchmarking:
  Ensuring that Proveca’s compensation packages are competitive across all markets, supporting retention and employee satisfaction.

• Bonus Structure:
  Introducing a performance-linked bonus structure to incentivise personal and team achievement.

• Employee Engagement Initiatives:
  A variety of initiatives aimed at boosting Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS), ensuring that Proveca remains an employer of choice.

Proveca’s Ongoing Success and Expansion

Proveca’s success continued to build on the solid foundation provided by FACT3’s Financial, HR and IT support. With a global presence, Proveca’s monthly sales grew steadily as the company expanded its product line. In 2023, Proveca obtained its second PUMA licence for an innovative paediatric treatment, continuing their track record of regulatory and commercial success.

For business leaders in the life sciences world, Proveca’s journey offers a powerful example of how aligning visionary goals with strategic financial, IT, and HR partnerships can create a pathway to global success. By focusing on both people and processes, Proveca has been able to maintain its mission-driven approach while scaling operations and delivering ground-breaking treatments for children around the world.