pharma services

Diversis Acquires Caligor Rx

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Diversis Capital has acquired Caligor Rx, a provider of clinical supply chain services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Caligor’s services are used to manage the regulatory, logistics and supply chain challenges of sourcing, storing and distributing investigational drugs used in comparator clinical trials (a comparator trial compares an experimental drug to a drug that is already being used to treat patients) and unlicensed medicines for expanded access programs (programs for patients who have life-threatening conditions but lack access to clinical trials or approved therapeutic alternatives). The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Secaucus, NJ with an additional facility just east of London in Dartford, UK (www.caligorrx.com).

“Caligor has a strong, successful track record of delivering strategic clinical trial supply and logistics services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries,” said Kevin Ma, a managing director for Diversis Capital.

Diversis plans to invest heavily in Caligor to build its sales and marketing, logistics capabilities, distribution infrastructure and service offerings. These investments include a new warehouse in Dartford, UK that will have about five times more space than the current UK facility. “We will provide additional resources and operational expertise to expand the company’s comparator and global access programs, broaden the reach of its businesses to new geographic regions, enhance its logistics capabilities and build on its leadership position,” said Mr. Ma.

Diversis Capital makes control investments in lower and middle market companies that have at least $20 million of revenue and up to $20 million of EBITDA. Transaction types include carve-outs, standalone transactions and special situations. Sectors of interest include technology, telecom, healthcare, industrials, consumer, and government and business services. The firm was founded in 2013 by managing directors Ron Nayot and Kevin Ma along with Marc Luzzatto, the firm’s Chairman. Diversis is based in Santa Monica (www.diversiscapital.com).

Tammy Bishop, managing director of Caligor, has been named Caligor’s new CEO following the acquisition of the company by Diversis.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-11-16

American Capital Invests In Schulman Associates IRB

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American Capital has made an investment in Schulman Associates IRB, an Institutional Review Board (IRB) that provides clinical trial oversight services to pharmaceutical firms, contract research organizations, hospitals and academic medical centers throughout the United States and Canada.  American Capital’s investment was made through American Capital Equity III, LP.

“We are extremely pleased to announce ACE III’s first platform investment since launching the fund earlier this year,” said Justin DuFour, American Capital Equity Partner.  “Schulman is an excellent example of the type of businesses we are targeting in ACE III – lower middle market companies with proven management teams, niche market leadership positions, stable recurring revenue streams and attractive growth potential.”

Schulman Associates IRB is one of the largest IRBs in the United States.  The company primarily serves the pharmaceutical and medical device industries as a central IRB on research involving drugs, medical devices and biologics.  Schulman reviews research protocols and consent documents from clinical trials to evaluate compliance with human subject protection regulations.  Schulman is fully accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in Cincinnati (www.sairb.com).

“Over its 31 year history, Schulman has successfully grown into an industry leader in the protection of human subjects in clinical trials,” said Eugene Krichevsky, American Capital Equity Partner.  “With its best-in-class regulatory compliance record, extensive range of therapeutic expertise and differentiated technology platform, Schulman is poised to meet the growing IRB demand for complex, multi-site clinical trials.”

American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS) is a publicly traded private equity firm and asset manager that originates, underwrites and manages investments of $10 million to $750 million in lower and middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate and structured products.  American Capital Equity III, LP is a $1.1 billion fund focused on acquiring control equity and equity-related positions in companies with $5 to $25 million of EBITDA.  Founded in 1986, American Capital has $80 billion in total assets under management and has eight offices in the US, Europe and Asia.  The firm is headquartered in Bethesda (www.AmericanCapital.com).

“We are very excited to partner with CEO Michael Woods and the rest of the Schulman team,” said Scott Kauffman, American Capital Equity Principal.  “They have done a remarkable job in driving significant historical growth and we are confident in their ability to continue to deliver strong results going forward.”

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 12-9-14

Arlington Capital Exits Micron Technologies

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Arlington Capital Partners has sold its portfolio company Micron Technologies, a provider of micronization services to the pharmaceutical industry, to Catalent Pharma Solutions.  Arlington Capital acquired Micron in March 2013.

“Micron is a trusted partner to global pharma and a strategic provider of critical solubility enhancement services for many of the industry’s leading commercial pharmaceuticals and drug candidates. The ability of the Micron team to develop, and capitalize on, the company’s strategic position at the beginning of the drug formulation pathway produced tremendous growth, and enabled this highly successful transaction,” said Matthew Altman, a Partner at Arlington Capital.

The process of micronization is used to reduce particles down to the micrometer or, in some cases, nanometer size, to improve the bioavailability of poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).  Micronization is most often accomplished by using fluid energy, such as a jet mill, but can also be achieved through mechanical means using a bead mill.  A wide range of drug types, including solid dosage, injectable, ocular, and inhaled products, can benefit from micronization.

Micron Technologies provides both jet milling and mechanical milling micronization services. Other services include containment processing, and analytical and testing services.  Micron is led by its Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Drost, who has been with the company since 2009 and has over 25 years of pharmaceutical industry experience.  The company is headquartered near Philadelphia in Malvern, PA with additional operations in Dartford, UK (www.microntech.com).

“Arlington invested significant resources and capital into Micron, including increasing the company’s technological capabilities, capacity and significantly expanding the salesforce,” said David Wodlinger, a Principal at Arlington Capital. “Management worked tirelessly on the strategy we developed together at the beginning of our investment, and the successful sale of the business is truly a testament to their steadfast work.”

Arlington Capital Partners has $1.5 billion of committed capital and focuses on buyouts and recapitalizations of companies valued from $50 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include aerospace and defense, government services and software, healthcare services, business services, and education and training.  The firm is based in Washington, DC (www.arlingtoncap.com).

“During our partnership with Arlington, Micron posted record growth and profitability, brought new capabilities to market, and significantly invested in our people. Arlington’s strategic counsel and capital support during this remarkable time has been a great asset,” said Joseph Drost, Micron Technologies’ Chief Executive Officer.  “The future looks very bright and we are very pleased to be joining Catalent as we seek to continue to build upon our success.”

Catalent Pharma Solutions (NYSE: CTLT) develops and provides delivery technologies for drugs, biologics, and consumer health products. The company is headquartered in Somerset, NJ (www.catalent.com).

Fairmount Partners (www.fairmountpartners.com) represented Micron on the transaction and Greenberg Traurig provided legal counsel to the company.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-19-14

Arsenal Acquires Synchrogenix

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Arsenal Capital Partners has acquired Synchrogenix, a provider of regulatory writing services to the pharmaceutical industry.  Upon closing, Synchrogenix was merged into Arsenal’s existing portfolio company Certara, a drug development and drug safety consultancy acquired by Arsenal this past December.

“Having worked with our talented staff to build Synchrogenix from the ground up, I was looking for a like-minded company that shared our strong work ethic and focus on excellent customer service and high-quality results. We have found a great match in Arsenal and Certara, and I look forward to expanding the range of services that we offer to all of our customers,” said Synchrogenix CEO Ellen Barrosse.  Ms. Barrosse will remain the CEO of Synchrogenix following the transaction.

Synchrogenix provides regulatory writing services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies worldwide.  The company provides pre-clinical, clinical, CMC (chemistry, manufacturing and control) and drug safety writing, and global regulatory submission services.  Synchrogenix has more than 50 permanent regulatory writers and editors on staff, located in seven offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company is headquartered in Wilmington, DE (www.synchrogenix.com).

“Pharmaceutical companies are looking for greater value and increased synergies from their outsourcing partners,” said Stephen McLean, a Partner at Arsenal and Co-Head of the firm’s Healthcare Group.  “Adding the complementary services Synchrogenix offers to the Certara portfolio will allow Certara to provide its preclinical and clinical pharmacology customers with end-to-end drug development consulting and writing services, including preparation of regulatory submissions such as the Biologic License Application, Investigational New Drug and New Drug Applications.”

Certara offers drug development and data analytics technology and services to the biopharmaceutical research and development market. The company has more than 225 employees located at offices in the US, UK, Canada, and Japan and is headquartered in St. Louis (www.certara.com).

“We were attracted to Synchrogenix by the quality of its work, its outstanding reputation and the global network of regulatory experts that it has developed,” said Donald Deieso, Ph.D. an Operating Partner at Arsenal and Co-Head of the Healthcare Group.  “By combining the most sophisticated regulatory professional organization with the world’s leading computational drug development capabilities, we believe that Certara can continue to enable our clients to improve the pace of efficacious drug development for the benefit of patients around the world.”

Arsenal Capital Partners invests in middle-market specialty industrial and healthcare companies that have $50 million to $250 million in enterprise value. Industries of specific interest include specialty & fine chemicals; segments of healthcare; transportation and logistics; power generation; aerospace & defense; and process industry components and services. Arsenal has $1.7 billion of committed capital under management. The firm was founded in 2000 and has offices in New York and Shanghai (www.arsenalcapital.com).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-17-14

CD&R Completes Buy of PharMEDium

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Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has closed an investment in PharMEDium Healthcare, a provider of hospital pharmacy compounding services. This transaction was first announced in December 2013.

PharMEDium’s sterile compounding services are used by hospitals to facilitate ready-to-use intravenous drug delivery to patients. Using FDA-approved drugs, diluents and containers, the company creates compounded sterile preparations (CSPs), which are not otherwise commercially available in the marketplace. PharMEDium provides CSPs in ready-to-use form with safety, labeling, stability, sterility and dating characteristics that are required by its hospital customers. PharMEDium serves more than 2,600 acute-care hospitals, academic medical centers, hospital groups, and standalone urban, suburban and rural hospitals. The company was founded by David Jonas in 2003 and is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, IL (www.pharmedium.com).

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice focuses on producing financial returns through building stronger more profitable businesses. Since inception, the firm has managed the investment of more than $19 billion in 59 businesses representing a range of industries with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $90 billion. Founded in 1978, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is based in New York and London (www.cdr-inc.com).

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice’s investment in PharMEDium Healthcare was first announced in December 2013 (Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Invests in PharMEDium).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-30-14

Audax Group Acquires Chesapeake IRB

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Audax Group has acquired Chesapeake Research Review, a provider of independent review board services to assure the protection and welfare of human subjects in clinical trials.

Chesapeake Research Review is a provider of institutional review board (IRB) services to pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, universities, academic medical centers, and hospital systems. Chesapeake performs independent reviews of proposed research projects and principal investigators to assure the protection and welfare of human subjects in clinical trials. The company is headquartered in Columbia, MD (www.chesapeakeirb.com).

Madison Capital Funding provided financing to support the acquisition of Chesapeake by Audax Group.

“Chesapeake operates an independent IRB with a leading reputation and a differentiated 21 CFR Part 11 compliant IT platform in a fragmented and growing market. We look forward to working with Dr. Felix Gyi and his team to grow the business organically and through strategic add-on acquisitions and expanding into adjacent services,” said Geoffrey Rehnert, Co-CEO of Audax Group. (Editor’s note: Title 21 CFR Part 11 is an FDA guideline on electronic records and electronic signatures. Part 11, as it is commonly called, defines the criteria under which electronic records and electronic signatures are considered to be trustworthy, reliable and equivalent to paper records).

The Audax Group makes control investments of $10 million to $100 million in middle market companies with transaction values of $25 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include industrial manufacturing; energy; outsourced industrial services; consumer products; healthcare devices and services; non-asset based logistics; technology; aerospace & defense; business services; and direct marketing. The firm was founded in 1999 and has offices in Boston and New York (www.audaxgroup.com).

“We are excited to partner with Audax Group as we embark on this new stage for our business. Their operational expertise and successful track record in sourcing and integrating add-on acquisitions will be an asset as we continue to build Chesapeake’s market presence as a leading IRB,” said Dr. Felix Gyi, Founder and CEO of Chesapeake.

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-22-13