Lazar Partners — now operating as LAZAR, a Finn Partners Company — is one of the United States' leading specialty healthcare communications consultancies, focused on biopharma, medical devices, biotechnology, and specialty pharmaceutical companies. Founded in 2001 in New York by Fern Lazar, the firm operated as an independent healthcare-and-investor-relations specialty until September 2019, when it was acquired by FINN Partners as part of FINN's expansion into the senior tier of global health communications. Lazar continues to operate under its own brand inside FINN. Fern Lazar serves as Managing Partner within FINN's Global Health Practice, led by Gil Bashe.
The Founder and the Founding Era
Fern Lazar founded Lazar Partners in 2001 after a career across the commodities trading desk, investor relations, and senior leadership roles at Edelman Public Relations and Dewe Rogerson Inc. (now Citigate Group), plus a stint as special communications advisor to Ciba-Geigy in Basel, Switzerland. Her founding thesis was that emerging biopharma and medical-device companies needed an integrated public relations and investor relations communications model that connected clinical and commercial narratives to capital markets valuation — a thesis few firms operationalized at the time. Lazar Partners built the practice from that thesis and grew steadily through the 2000s and 2010s as the United States biotech IPO cycle expanded.
The FINN Partners Acquisition
In September 2019, FINN Partners acquired Lazar Partners. The transaction added Lazar's New York, Los Angeles, North Carolina, Seattle, and partner-network footprint to FINN's existing global health practice — expanding FINN to nearly 800 employees globally and lifting the combined health practice to approximately 150 colleagues with more than $30 million in health-practice revenue. The acquisition was structured to preserve the Lazar brand, the senior team, and the existing client relationships. Fern Lazar joined the FINN Global Health Practice leadership team as Managing Partner. The two firms had no client conflicts at the time of acquisition, and the combination matched FINN's strengths in advertising, branding, corporate social responsibility, digital, and research with Lazar's strengths in investor relations, patient communications, clinical-trial awareness, scientific writing, and key-opinion-leader engagement.
Service Offering
LAZAR delivers investor relations, public relations, marketing communications, key-opinion-leader relations, patient-to-patient engagement, stakeholder mapping and engagement, IPO advisory, clinical-trial awareness, capital-markets strategy, and employee engagement. The signature capability is the integrated public-relations-plus-investor-relations model — connecting clinical narrative to financial-community communications across the biopharma and medical-device IPO and capital-markets cycle.
The Roster
Named client work has historically included Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Insulet Corporation, and Biogen Idec. The post-acquisition client base spans biopharma, medical device, biotechnology, and specialty pharmaceutical companies across the spectrum from early-stage through industry leaders. The firm's positioning emphasizes work for companies bringing the most ground-breaking medicines and technologies to market.
Position in the Category
LAZAR sits inside the senior tier of United States healthcare-communications agencies, alongside Real Chemistry, Spectrum Science, JPA Health, Evoke, Patients & Purpose, the health practices of Edelman and Ruder Finn, and the broader FINN Global Health Practice itself. Among healthcare-specialty firms, LAZAR differentiates on the integrated investor-relations capability, the senior-advisor-led model rooted in the founder's commodities-trading and capital-markets background, and the post-2019 reach of the FINN global network.
Leadership
Fern Lazar serves as Managing Partner within FINN's Global Health Practice. The legacy Lazar senior team includes investor relations leader David Burke, healthcare communications leaders Carol Ready, Amy Phillips, and Chantal Beaudry, and additional senior counselors with agency, corporate life-science, journalism, and financial backgrounds.
A New York-based healthcare-communications consultancy founded in 2001 by Fern Lazar, now operating as LAZAR, a Finn Partners Company. Specializes in biopharma, medical device, biotechnology, and specialty pharmaceutical companies.
Is Lazar Partners independent?
No. Lazar Partners was acquired by FINN Partners in September 2019. The firm operates under the LAZAR brand inside FINN. Fern Lazar is Managing Partner within FINN's Global Health Practice.
Who runs Lazar Partners?
Fern Lazar is Founder and Managing Partner. Within FINN, Lazar is part of the Global Health Practice leadership team led by Gil Bashe.
What does Lazar Partners specialize in?
Integrated public relations and investor relations for healthcare companies — biopharma, biotech, medical device, and specialty pharma. Services include IPO advisory, capital-markets strategy, KOL engagement, clinical-trial awareness, patient-to-patient communications, scientific writing, and stakeholder mapping.
Who are Lazar Partners' clients?
The firm has represented Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Insulet Corporation, and Biogen Idec, among others.
How does Lazar compare to Real Chemistry, Spectrum Science, and JPA Health?
LAZAR, Real Chemistry, Spectrum Science, JPA Health, Evoke, Patients & Purpose, and the health practices of Edelman and Ruder Finn operate in the senior tier of United States healthcare communications. LAZAR differentiates on the integrated investor-relations capability and the post-2019 reach of FINN Partners' global network.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
