Vintura returns to independence: ‘It’s less about numbers and more about impact’

2026 marks the start of a new chapter for Vintura. After several years of international expansion and mergers, the healthcare and life sciences consultancy has returned to independence. We spoke with partners Bas Amesz and Aart Willem Saly about the firm’s journey and their ambitions for the next phase. “As an independent firm, it’s less about the numbers and more about making an impact in healthcare.”

Last year, Vintura celebrated its 25th anniversary – a major milestone for the consulting firm as well as Bas Amesz and Aart Willem Saly. Yet the start of this year feels even more significant for the two partners: since 2 January, Vintura has once again become fully independent.

“We bought the firm back,” says Amesz with a broad smile. “That brings us back to our essence. Not that we want to turn back the clock – of course we want to keep moving forward.”

“We’re certainly not turning our backs on the past few years,” Saly adds. “On the contrary: they brought us a great deal, and we’re taking those experiences with us into this next chapter.”

A great adventure

Before moving into this new phase, it is worth briefly reflecting on the past five years. Around 2020, Vintura took its first steps on an international growth journey, opening its first overseas office in the United Kingdom and entering into a joint venture with PharmaLex.

In the eventful years that followed, the firm opened an office in Germany, acquired Dutch counterpart Equalis, merged with French consultancy Cepton, and ultimately became part of the US-listed company Cencora.

“It was a great adventure,” says Amesz, reflecting on the buy-and-build campaign. “That was also one of the main reasons we embarked on it. We wanted to grow alongside our clients – we work extensively with the pharmaceutical industry, and they were scaling up rapidly.”

Five years on, Amesz notes that the adventure also had a flip side. “We were gradually being pushed away from our raison d’être. As part of a large publicly listed company, the focus increasingly shifted towards figures and processes, and away from people and impact – which is ultimately what we are here for.”

“From the US to China, we are involved in programmes that connect healthcare stakeholders.”

Building further

That realisation ultimately prompted the decision to return to independence. Under its new ownership model, Vintura can once again focus fully on making an impact in healthcare.

The fact that Vintura is now standing on its own two feet again does not mean the firm is back to square one, Saly stresses. “On the contrary: we’ve made tremendous strides over the past few years, and we’re now building on that foundation.”

The firm’s internationalisation strategy, meanwhile, continues at full pace. Today, around 60% of its revenue comes from outside the Netherlands. That shift has also reshaped the organisation, which now brings together twelve nationalities within its team.

Amesz sees this diversity as crucial to the quality Vintura delivers. “One of the motivations behind our internationalisation was that, in my view, we were still looking at healthcare too much through a Dutch lens. People with German, Italian or Chinese backgrounds each bring their own perspective to a problem. Those different viewpoints don’t always make collaboration easier, but they do lead to better outcomes.”

For that to work, those perspectives must remain closely connected, Saly explains. “We now have around forty people in total, spread across the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. But those three offices operate as one team, with a shared vision and a single profit and loss account.”

This team collaborates on projects around the world. “From the US to China, we’re involved in programmes that bring together healthcare stakeholders,” says Saly. “Think pharmaceutical companies, insurers, and leading hospitals such as Stanford and Johns Hopkins. Together, we explore how the entire healthcare system can deliver improvements based on the latest scientific insights.”

Getting off the ground

Continuous innovation is essential to keeping healthcare accessible. While negative sentiment often dominates the public debate, Saly has noticed a shift in recent years. “Under the intense pressure of staff shortages, something is being unlocked within the sector.”

“Hospitals and insurers that once saw each other as adversaries are increasingly recognising that they face a shared challenge,” he explains. “Many long-overdue changes are finally getting off the ground. Remote care, for example, is moving incredibly fast right now.”

“Consultants join us because they want to improve healthcare, and that is now fully at the centre again.”

The role of the pharmaceutical industry in transforming the healthcare system is often overlooked – unfairly so, Amesz believes. “Of the increase in life expectancy in the Western world between 1990 and 2015, around 35% is attributable to new medicines. And the innovations keep coming. It’s becoming possible to develop medicines economically for much smaller patient groups – even down to treatments tailored to the individual patient.”

There are, however, concerns about US President Donald Trump’s demands that pharmaceutical companies drastically cut prices in the US. “That’s creating enormous uncertainty in the market,” Amesz says. “One possible consequence is that medicines are no longer launched across Europe – something we’re already starting to see.”

Fresh energy

All things considered, Amesz and Saly look to the future with optimism – both for healthcare and for Vintura itself. “We can already feel that our independence is bringing a lot of fresh energy,” says Amesz. “Consultants join us because they want to improve healthcare, and that mission is now firmly back at the centre of everything we do.”

This renewed momentum has already resulted in the appointment of three new partners in the first months of 2026. “The fact that it’s once again possible to become a co-owner in a tight-knit team makes us more attractive to senior talent,” Amesz says.

He also believes the rapid rise of AI could help overcome some of the traditional disadvantages of being a smaller firm. “As a boutique consultancy, you inevitably face economies-of-scale challenges – larger players tend to have specialists in every area. AI is narrowing that gap. We can now access that expertise much faster ourselves, and we’re spending far less time on PowerPoints and other peripheral tasks.”

“What remains is precisely what sets us apart,” he concludes. “Providing high-quality strategic advice, working closely with healthcare stakeholders, co-creating solutions, and ultimately making an impact. The landscape is full of promising initiatives that failed because the healthcare system couldn’t absorb them. With Vintura, we want to ensure that patients truly benefit from the innovations transforming healthcare.”