The opportunity to be in the driving seat, of delivering ProductLife Group’s strategic next stage of growth, is a challenge I will relish

Tuesday, 05 May 2020

Combining a prestigious scientific background with deep industry experience - including 13 years heading the Life Sciences practice of a global leading consulting firm - Xavier Duburcq has ambitious plans to:

- enhance ProductLife Group’s footprint and secure global leadership in Regulatory, Pharmacovigilance & Compliance services with expanded presence in North America
- further diversify the group’s range of services, capitalising on the ‘booming’ medical device sector and reinforcing positioning in the areas of quality & compliance
- integrate innovation, AI/process automation into the group’s highly sought-after managed services


Paris, France – May 5th, 2020— ProductLife Group has marked the next phase in its global growth ambitions by appointing a high-profile CEO. Xavier Duburcq joins the group after 13 years at Altran, where he was Group VP of Life Sciences and Head of Life Sciences & Chemicals.

Holding a PhD in Immunology and being a Pharmacist, Xavier was involved in his early career in the development of new medical devices for the detection of hepatitis, HIV, malaria and other blood viruses at Sedac Therapeutics and Biorad. Crucially for ProductLife Group, he also has an impressive track record in life sciences business development, leading the transformation of Altran Life Sciences’ positioning with substantial international development across Europe, Asia and North America over the last decade.

Compounded by the current market conditions, Xavier sees an enormous global market opportunity for ProductLife Group’s managed Regulatory, Pharmacovigilance & Compliance services, as life sciences organisations focus more intently on strategic core activities. He predicts that an already-strong outsourcing trend will accelerate over the months and years ahead, as organisations look to manage their non-core activities in the most reliable and cost-effective ways.

“ProductLife Group is ideally positioned for this with its full service contract model and ‘amplified offshoring model’, which combines the best of on- and off-shore resourcing,” he notes. “This and the organisation’s global capacity will be the key to future growth.”

“ProductLife Group’s strengths are its services and its delivery model,” he says. “The current climate has forced an economic shift from physical to digital processes, resulting in a reinvention of sales channels and remote working on a massive scale,” he explains. “The successful companies will be those making extensive use of digital tools to strengthen operations, customer relationships and strategic alliances.”

Xavier notes that ProductLife Group has an exceptional reputation across the global life sciences industry. “I have known the company for years – we have shared customers – and client feedback is consistently outstanding; globally too. I have been really impressed by that,” he says. “The calibre of the people, the quality and range of managed services, and the ability of 200+ consultants to reach 100+ countries and have people on site as needed, is quite incredible.”

“The opportunity to be in the driving seat, of delivering ProductLife Group’s strategic next stage of growth, is a challenge I will relish,” he adds.

Welcoming Xavier to the new CEO role, Group Executive Chairman Pierre Cuny says, “We couldn’t have hoped for a more fitting and desirable appointment, and we are delighted that Xavier was so keen to join ProductLife Group - and that he so clearly shares our vision and mind-set. However challenged, the global market is right now, we couldn’t be better positioned for the period ahead. This is undoubtedly an important day for the Group.”

21 Invest France, which acquired and made a significant investment in ProductLife Group in early 2019 to fuel the Group’s new growth phase, is similarly effusive about Xavier’s appointment. Fabrice Voituron, Managing Partner at 21 Invest France, says, “Appointing a strong and ambitious CEO was always the natural next part of the plan for ProductLife Group, and we couldn’t be happier that Xavier has accepted the role. He is made for the challenge, and has the credentials, track record and vision to deliver this exciting next phase of the journey.” Fabrice adds, “Xavier knows this industry inside out, and has a keen eye for where it needs to go next. His alignment with our own ambitions is beyond what we might have hoped. The aim is to create a global organisation 3-4 times its current size, and we’re confident we have found the person to lead ProductLife Group to that position.”



About ProductLife Group
ProductLife Group specialises in helping international life sciences organisations more effectively get their products and therapies to market by providing functional support across all of the regulated stages of the product life cycle—from development to launch, to post marketing.

Performing successfully for more than 25 years, ProductLife Group has an established global presence in Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and North America.

We deliver services via an innovative, platform-and-hub operating model, enabling our clients to achieve continuous improvement, increased quality, enhanced performance, reduced risk, better compliance, and overall cost benefit. That approach, combined with our collaborative, partnership-oriented culture, empowers life sciences organisations to realise the commercial potential of their own international operations. More at www.productlifegroup.com

PR Contact
Carina Birt
Sarum PR – PR for ProductLife Group
+44 7970 006624
carina@sarumpr.com