Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — In spite of the ominous vibe of its name, Utah tech company MasterControl is not an omnipotent corporate villain from TV or the movies, a la Terrell Corporation, Cyberdyne Systems or Mr. Robot's E Corp.
But it is a hugely successful software innovator that's quietly built a market leadership position when it comes to quality control and manufacturing software for life sciences companies in the U.S. and around the world.
Launched nearly 30 years ago, the Cottonwood Heights-based MasterControl began life specializing in document control, helping companies navigate requirements for International Standard of Organization compliance for products, business management and manufacturing processes.
But under the leadership of CEO Jon Beckstrand, who's held the top position since shortly after his father acquired the company in the early 2000s, MasterControl pivoted to developing software-as-service solutions for quality control processes for life sciences companies. And, about five years ago, Beckstrand said MasterControl launched an effort to expand its platform into the arena of manufacturing processes for its growing life sciences/pharmaceutical industry client base.
MasterControl software tools, Beckstrand explains, are replacing processes that have been mostly paper-based for decades, greatly expanding the efficiency and accuracy of quality control and manufacturing oversight for the highly regulated life sciences industry.
"I think it's really easy to see that health care product companies have a critical need for a very high quality in manufacturing," Beckstrand said. "In order to do that, you have to have a really well-documented and well-governed process. And our software streamlines all of those requirements."
Back in December, MasterControl announced $150 million in Series A funding on a valuation of $1.3 billion. Led by San Francisco-based Sixth Street Growth Partners, the funding round was the first venture investment the company has taken on after bootstrapping its way to over $100 million in annual recurring revenues.
MasterControl reports it has built a global client base of over 1,100 companies that include half of the top 50 pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
The company says the new funding will accelerate its product development efforts and enable more focus on building technology that will predict and prevent quality events, and enable true artificial intelligence-assisted manufacturing optimization.
"For nearly three decades, we've been laser-focused on our mission to make life-changing products available to more people sooner," Beckstrand said following the December funding announcement. "This commitment has led us to attack inefficiencies in quality and manufacturing that were extending product research and delivery cycles. We see an urgent need to help our customers to deliver their breakthrough technologies to the market faster and at a lower cost.
"Our goal is to add a strategic partner with resources and expertise to help us to meet the significant need for our solutions. We're fortunate to have the experienced investment team at Sixth Street Growth to help make that a reality."
Salt Lake City-based Myriad Genetics, which became one of the world's first genomics-focused companies in the world when it launched in 1991, is a long-time client of MasterControl and uses the software platform across its genetic diagnostics and precision medicine business.
Shane Pew, Myriad Genetics' senior director of quality assurance, said his company initially used MasterControl primarily as a digital document management tool.
Pew said Myriad expanded its use of MasterControl software after the company entered into a partnership with pharma giant Astra-Zeneca for ovarian cancer diagnostics and treatment. That alliance raised the bar for FDA oversight of the work being conducted in Myriad facilities and to keep up with new duties, Pew said Myriad turned to MasterControl.
"That upped the game for regulatory requirements for Myriad," Pew said. "We had to look even closer at our policy and procedure. MasterControl helped us achieve more alignment, more efficiencies and more effectiveness."
Pew also noted that use of MasterControl's software platform has paved the way for expanded data analysis that has aided the company in numerous ways including helping spot problems before they occur and guaranteeing the best quality oversight processes for the end user.
"That's one of the biggest values of having our quality data in MasterControl," Pew said.
While MasterControl has seen stellar growth in recent years, its expansion into the manufacturing side of the life sciences industry is opening up new opportunities. Since launching its Manufacturing Excellence product expansion in 2019, the company reports it's been riding 100% year-over-year sales growth and is aiming to gain new ground in the $17 billion manufacturing executions system market.
And its new financial backers from Sixth Street Partners are bullish on MasterControl's growth arc and continued success.
"MasterControl is the (software-as-service) leader helping strengthen the manufacturing industry's digital transition and ensuring that life sciences and other highly regulated organizations get the safest products to consumers as fast as possible," said Nari Ansari, managing director at Sixth Street Growth, following the December funding announcement. "It has a proven business model, an accomplished leadership team, a marquee client base, and a solid track record of growth. We're honored to be the company's first external investor and look forward to supporting its continued success."
Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated Sixth Street Growth Partners is based in Dallas. The company is headquartered in San Francisco.
