Klick Health expands in APAC, acquires Ward6 Singapore

The world’s largest independent health care marketing agency is scaling up in Asia Pacific, acquiring the Singapore operations of Ward6—previously one of the largest independent life sciences agency players locally. 

"It’s almost a perfect marriage,” Graeme Read, Klick Health’s new managing director for APAC, tells Campaign. “These two independent agencies are now coming together to create a much larger offering with a springboard to do great things.”  

Based in Sydney, Ward6 has been active in health marketing in the Singapore market for the past 14 years, developing a specific competency in healthcare professional (HCP) marketing and medical communications that well-complements Klick’s local strength in consumer health, according to Read.  

Although Klick Health declined to divulge their client list or staffing levels, the deal has seen all of Ward6’s Singapore staff, including creative, account service and med comms, move into Klick Health’s office and integrate into its operations, which now increases Klick’s head count by 30%.   

"We are immensely proud of the work we have accomplished during our 14 years in Singapore,” Ward6 CEO Stuart Black stated in a release. “We were flattered when Klick leadership approached us and are delighted that our team will continue to excel as part of Klick Health and its expanded Singapore operations.” 

Klick now inherits Ward6’s entire Singapore client portfolio, which will continue to be serviced by the same teams they had previously.  

The advantage for those clients, Read says, is that they can now tap into a broader suite of services and competencies that Klick has as a global agency. 

“The fact that [Ward6] are healthcare-dedicated really aligns to the mission of our global model,” explains Klick Health president Ari Schaefer in an interview with Campaign. “Klick is entirely healthcare dedicated. There is nothing we do outside of that space, which means we are very much like-minded in the way that we approach our work and the culture that represents the passion for life sciences, for pharmaceuticals, for healthcare in general. That doesn’t exist everywhere...[and] is one of the reasons why we approached Ward6.”  

Founded in 1997 with its main offices in Toronto and New York, Klick has been one of the fastest-growing independent health agency networks globally, establishing an Asia Pacific hub in Singapore in 2023. Earlier this year, Klick acquired Peregrine Market Access, a US-based market access strategy and value communications specialist in life sciences.