citybiz+ Pharmaceutics International Raises $4.2M amid Sale Talk

Contract manufacturer Pharmaceutics International, which plans a sale to enable an exit for private equity investors, has raised $4.2 million in a funding round from Canada’s Pharmascience, Hildred Capital Partners and other investors, according to a Crunchbase listing.

“We are probably going to start a process in about a year for a recapitalization or to sell the company,” CEO John Fowler told Ion Analytics in an interview last December. “It’s long in the cycle for PE, so it’s time,” he added, referring to the private equity investment in 2016.

Piper Sandler Hired

The Hunt Valley, Md., company has hired Piper Sandler to advise it on the sale. In 2016, Pharmaceutics sold a large chunk of itself to private equity investors for $94 million. The investors included Athyrium Capital, Hildred Capital and Signet Healthcare Partners, all based in New York.

In the interview with Ion Analytics, Fowler named Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) and PE firms such as Warburg Pincus and Advent International as potential buyers. “There are many big commercial CDMOs, but they don’t have the flexibility to do early development,” said Fowler. “They can use us as a development arm to feed the pipeline.”

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Steady Pipeline
According to Fowler, Pharmaceutics has developed over 30 products that are now approved by regulators, including five in 2023. Oncology treatments constitute about 30% of those products. Pharmaceutics has raised over $150 million since its founding in 1994. Today, it boasts of 70 manufacturing sites and state-of-the-art cGMP and DEA-registered facilities. It employs nearly 300 scientists.

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Fowler is a 30-year pharmaceutical and chemical industry veteran. Most recently, he served as president and chief operating officer of Piramal Pharma Solutions, a contract development and manufacturing organization serving generic companies. Before joining Piramal, he was the divisional CEO of the Global Fine Chemical business at Johnson Matthey. He has a chemical engineering degree from Bucknell University and an MBA from St. Joseph University.

Executive Chairman Syed E. Abidi is listed as a founding member of the company. The Pakistani American has over 30 years’ experience in pharmaceutical formulation and dosage form development, including capsules and tablets. Before joining Pharmaceutics, Abidi was vice president of American Drug Development, overseeing research and development. He has also worked at Hercon Laboratories, Applied Analytical and Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals.