The Lockwood Group
A Stamford, CT medical communications and oncology education group, backed by an Ares private equity fund since 2021, that has doubled to 800+ staff through a run of acquisitions.
Lockwood release, Jun 10, 2026- Valuation
- Not disclosed an Ares private equity fund invested in Oct 2021 on undisclosed terms; no later price published.
- Owner
- Ares Management fund a fund run by the Private Equity Group of Ares Management (NYSE: ARES); founder Matthew Schecter stayed CEO.
- Staff
- 800+ over 800 employees in Jun 2026, up from nearly 400 in Apr 2022, much of it from acquisitions.
- Watch
- Five buys in four years Random42, IDEOlogy Health, Research To Practice, Total Health and Stratis since 2022; an owner change is the thing to watch.
- AI
- Nothing public no AI product, tool or policy announced in its newsroom; Random42 publishes an llms.txt file.
- Liquidity
- None found no tender offer, staff share sale or equity plan details published.
- Hiring
- 34 → 34 remote listings since Oct 10.
Paid by drug makers to explain their science, and by sponsors to teach oncologists.
Lockwood writes publications, medical affairs and commercial content for pharma and biotech. Random42 makes medical animation and XR. Nexus Health, Stratis and APS sell market access, pricing and field reimbursement support. IDEOlogy Health, Research To Practice and Total Health run oncology medical education, which the group says report to the parent separately from the client-facing units. No revenue or unit split is published.
The Lockwood Group home page, checked Nov 3, 2026- 1A deep oncology education benchIt now owns three oncology education businesses: IDEOlogy Health, Research To Practice (run by oncologist Neil Love for more than 40 years) and Total Health (60+ programs a year).Lockwood release, Feb 23, 2026
- 2Scientists on staffIn 2022 more than 160 of its nearly 400 team members held advanced scientific or medical degrees.Lockwood release, Apr 6, 2022
- 3Content, animation and market access under one roofSince 2022 it added a London animation studio (Random42), a market access arm (Nexus Health, launched Mar 2025) and Stratis field reimbursement.The Lockwood Group home page, checked Nov 3, 2026
- IQVIA$44.1Blisted, Oct 30 close
- Omnicom$22.2Blisted, Oct 30 close
Private values are the last reported round; they can be stale. Listed values are market value. Bars start at zero.
Every round, and what its terms give away.
The Lockwood Group is private, so there is no share price. What its investors paid, and on what terms, is the closest thing to one.
- Oct 12Private equity investmentLed by Ares Management Private Equity Group fundCalled a strategic investment; terms not disclosed. Houlihan Lokey advised Lockwood.Lockwood release on Ares investment, Oct 12, 2021
- Down round or write-down?No priced round or valuation has been published, so there is nothing to compare.Lockwood release on Ares investment, Oct 12, 2021Open
- Time since the last equity dealAres invested in Oct 2021, about five years ago, which is near the length of a typical buyout hold.Lockwood release on Ares investment, Oct 12, 2021Flag
- Debt or unusual terms?Terms were not disclosed and no debt facility has been announced. Acquisitions since 2022 had undisclosed prices; how they were paid for is not public.Lockwood release on Ares investment, Oct 12, 2021Open
- Who backs it?An outside institutional backer: a fund managed by Ares Management's Private Equity Group.Lockwood release on Ares investment, Oct 12, 2021Clear
- Can staff sell shares?No tender offer, secondary sale or employee equity plan found in releases or postings.The Lockwood Group newsroom, checked Nov 3, 2026Open
- Layoffs in the last 12 months?Searched its newsroom and press for 2025 to 2026 cuts; none found. Staff grew to 800+ by Jun 2026.Lockwood release, Jun 10, 2026Clear
Clear: checked, nothing found. Flag: found, with the source. Open: could not be checked.
What the record says, and what we think it means.
The fact is the source's. The read, in italics, is ours.
- 01Watch
7 of 49 openings are freelance.
Greenhouse board lockwood, checked Nov 3, 2026On Nov 3, 2026, 6 postings were titled Freelance (editorial, art, copy, project manager, two scientific directors) and one Research To Practice role was part-time freelance at about 20 hours a week. Several invite applicants to a freelancer community for future assignments.
Check the employment type before applying; a community listing is not a specific job.
- 02Neutral
8 field roles are placed on client programs.
Greenhouse board lockwood, checked Nov 3, 2026Eight Stratis Access and Field Reimbursement Manager postings describe a contracted role supporting a client's product and patient hub.
These jobs are tied to a pharma client contract, so they can end if the client's program ends. The postings do not say W-2 or 1099.
- 03Watch
No posted pay in the listings.
Greenhouse board lockwood, checked Nov 3, 2026None of the 49 postings we read includes a pay range in the text, including field roles in Colorado and California.
Ask for the range early.
- 04Neutral
One board, several employers.
Greenhouse board lockwood, checked Nov 3, 2026Its Greenhouse board carries postings for Lockwood, Stratis, Nexus Health, IDEOlogy Health, Total Health and Research To Practice.
The brand on the posting is the unit you would work for.
- 05Good
Bought Stratis in Mar 2026.
Nexus Health release via PR Newswire, Mar 17, 2026Nexus Health, the group's market access arm, acquired Stratis, adding patient services, HEOR, real world evidence and adherence work. Terms not disclosed.
Market access is now a real second leg next to medical communications.
- 06Good
Three oncology education buys in 10 months.
Lockwood release, Feb 23, 2026IDEOlogy Health (May 2025), Research To Practice (Nov 2025) and Total Health (Feb 2026), all on undisclosed terms.
A fast roll-up. Integration of founder-led businesses is the risk.
- 07Good
Remote is the norm.
Greenhouse board lockwood, checked Nov 3, 2026The company says most team members work from where they live; 35 of 49 postings on Nov 3, 2026 were remote, 8 field based, 6 office or hybrid (Stamford, Austin).
Accounting and event roles are the office exceptions.
- 08Neutral
Headquartered in Stamford, CT.
The Lockwood Group home page, checked Nov 3, 2026Head office is 1055 Washington Blvd, Stamford, CT; Random42 is in London, IDEOlogy in Austin, Research To Practice in Miami.
US run, with a UK animation studio.
What the hiring data says.
We save every company's roles, pay by team and level, AI share and churn every day, so each month this page can say more. Sparklines use their own scale.
Can AI agents do business with The Lockwood Group?
We checked the agent payment programs, developer docs and site rules an AI assistant would meet.
Open to crawlers, no agent doorway. Open robots.txt, no llms.txt on the main site, no API or MCP.
Still Remote read- YesLets AI crawlers read its siterobots.txt allows all user agents and only disallows /wp-admin/. No AI bot is named.checked Nov 3, 2026
- Not found
- Yesllms.txt on a group brandrandom42.com/llms.txt exists, generated by its Yoast SEO plugin, listing its pages.checked Nov 3, 2026
- YesCan assistants read its job openingsJobs are on Greenhouse, whose job board robots.txt sets only a crawl delay, and a public API lists all 49 roles.checked Nov 3, 2026
- Not foundAn MCP server, public API or AI productNone found in its newsroom or site.The Lockwood Group newsroom, checked Nov 3, 2026
Where The Lockwood Group puts AI to work.
- 1No stated AI programIts releases since Mar 2025 cover acquisitions and platforms, not AI. Scientific director postings describe human writing and review teams with in-house and freelance staff.The Lockwood Group newsroom, checked Nov 3, 2026
- 2Digital education platformsResearch To Practice relaunched its website in Jun 2026 as a more personalized digital platform for oncology professionals.Lockwood release, Jun 10, 2026
More listings than on Sep 7, most of them in marketing.
The signals, and which way they push.
- TailwindHeadcount doubled.
About 400 staff in Apr 2022 to 800+ in Jun 2026.
- TailwindConcentrated in oncology.
Most scientific director openings are oncology or heme-onc, and three acquired education firms are oncology focused.
- HeadwindFlexible staffing.
7 of 49 openings are freelance and 8 are client-contracted field roles.
- HeadwindA five-year-old buyout stake.
Ares invested in Oct 2021; an owner change could reshape teams.
Where The Lockwood Group ends up, if we had to bet.
Our calls, not facts. Each one is tied to something that already happened, so you can judge the reasoning.
- 1
By 2031 The Lockwood Group has a new owner, either a bigger fund or a pharma services company.
Likely 72%M&AAres has held its stake since Oct 2021, a typical buyout window. The string of add-on buys since 2025 fits a platform being built for a sale.
Lockwood release on Ares investment, Oct 12, 2021 - 2
Lockwood lists on a stock exchange by 2036.
Long shot 16%IPONo filing has been reported and it publishes no financials. Agencies of its size usually change hands privately.
Lockwood release on Ares investment, Oct 12, 2021 - 3
Market access and education outgrow core medical communications by 2031.
Coin flip 50%RevenueNexus Health launched in Mar 2025 and bought Stratis in Mar 2026. Three education firms joined in under a year.
Nexus Health release via PR Newswire, Mar 17, 2026 - 4
AI drafts most first versions of its publications and education content by 2031.
Likely 72%AIIts work is document heavy and science based, which suits AI drafting. It has announced no AI program yet, so it may follow rivals rather than lead.
The Lockwood Group newsroom, checked Nov 3, 2026 - 5
It stays an independent mid-size player rather than being folded into a holding company network.
Coin flip 50%CompetitionIt has grown to 800+ staff by acquisition. Large networks like Omnicom and Publicis also buy health agencies.
Lockwood release, Jun 10, 2026
Read by the Still Remote research agent on November 3, 2026 from the sources linked on this page. Facts and scenarios only, not investment advice.