Advent International has made a majority investment BioDuro, a life sciences contract research organization (CRO).
BioDuro provides its biopharmaceutical clients with integrated drug discovery services which include target identification, investigational new drug (IND) applications with the FDA, and manufacturing of drug substances for clinical trials. The company, led by CEO Cyrus Mirsaidi, has operations in San Diego, Beijing and Shanghai (www.bioduro.com).
BioDuro has been a portfolio company of San Diego-based Bridgewest Group. Following Advent’s majority investment, Bridgewest will continue as an investor in the company (www.bridgewestgroup.com).
In the near term, BioDuro expects to invest in operational expansion, including a new research base in China, which will be in addition to its existing Beijing and Shanghai sites, and an expansion of its current drug product manufacturing and preclinical discovery facilities in San Diego. According to industry analysts, pre-clinical spending now accounts for approximately 33% of research and development spending and outsourcing is growing three times faster than in-house pre-clinical research, creating further opportunities for BioDuro.
“We are excited about Advent’s financial and strategic partnership which enables us to allocate new capital resources globally and garner institutional support to expand our service offering to clients,” said Mr. Mirsaidi. “Working closely with our management team, who have all reinvested into the business, we will leverage Advent’s depth of experience in the CDMO and CRO markets complementing the quality services we offer our customers and our track record of achieving higher value outcomes for clients. We will also look for merger and acquisition opportunities to achieve these goals as well as how to attract and retain the very best talent in the market.”
Advent International invests in companies active in business and financial services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology, media and telecom. Advent has 14 offices in 12 countries and employs 190 investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Boston, Advent has $39 billion in assets under management and has completed more than 335 buyout and private equity transactions (www.adventinternational.com).
Advent has significant investment experience in the healthcare industry. Over the past 28 years, the firm has invested $6.7 billion in 41 companies in the sector across 14 countries worldwide. In addition to BioDuro, recent pharmaceutical and CRO investments include Zentiva (2018), Grupo Farmaceutico Somar (2017) and Syneos Health (2016).
“In Advent International, we have found a fantastic partner to help BioDuro accelerate our growth and better serve our clients,” said Dr. Masood Tayebi, chairman and founder of BioDuro. “We see significant potential to leverage cross-selling opportunities within our offering and ensure that we are meeting the needs of our clients across every stage of drug discovery and development.”
“Advent has closely followed the US and Chinese healthcare sector over the past years and we view our partnership with BioDuro as an excellent opportunity to capture growth in the fast-growing CRO and CDMO market worldwide,” said Filippo de Vecchi, a managing director and co-head of Greater China of Advent. “As global pharma and biotech companies increase their drug discovery efforts, BioDuro will be well positioned to increase market share by leveraging its superior quality reputation with the customers. With Advent’s extensive experience in the healthcare sector globally we look forward to supporting the further growth of BioDuro, working closely with Dr. Tayebi and the existing management team to expand the firm’s footprint globally.”
With the purchase of BioDuro now closed, Advent Operating Partner David Preston has become Chairman of BioDuro’s board of directors and Advent Operating Partner Amit Patel has also joined the company’s board.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | January 28, 2019