Avid Bioservices, Inc.

The MedPharm-Purna partnership could become a preferred trans-Atlantic provider for development of topical and transdermal pharmaceutical products. Credit: Krisana Antharith / Shutterstock.com. Ampersand Capital Partners has acquired Purna Pharmaceuticals, a Belgium-based provider of development and manufacturing services for liquid and semi-solid dosage forms in the pharmaceutical sector. The move is part of Ampersand’s strategy to establish a trans-Atlantic pharmaceutical development partnership through the Purna and MedPharm alliance. This partnership has the potential to become a preferred trans-Atlantic provider for the development, manufacturing, and formulation of topical and transdermal pharmaceutical drugs. MedPharm operates as Ampersand’s topical and transdermal pharmaceutical development and manufacturing platform. Achelous Partners acted as investment banking and financial adviser to Purna during the transaction. Purna Pharmaceuticals CEO Bart Peeters said: “This acquisition marks an important next chapter for Purna and reflects Ampersand’s confidence in our leadership team, differentiated capabilities, and customer relationships. GlobalData Strategic Intelligence US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate? Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis. By GlobalData Learn more about Strategic Intelligence “With Ampersand’s support, we are well positioned to continue investing in innovation, quality and capacity to better serve our global pharmaceutical customer base.” Ampersand Capital Partners principal Hidde van Kerckoven said: “Purna has built a reputation for quality, reliability, and customer partnership. We are excited to support the Purna team by providing strategic guidance, capital, and access to our life sciences network while preserving the company’s culture and customer-first approach.” Established in 1986, Purna delivers contract services for developing and manufacturing powder, liquid, and semi-solid pharmaceutical products, according to GXP standards and specific client requirements. The company serves small start-ups through to multinational pharma companies. Ampersand Capital Partners manages $3bn in assets with an exclusive focus on growth investments within healthcare sectors. In November 2024, GHO Capital Partners and Ampersand Capital signed a definitive agreement to acquire biologics contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Avid Bioservices in a $1.1bn cash transaction.

European healthcare specialist GHO Capital has nabbed €2.5 billion (~$2.9 billion) for its fourth fund . The raise comes in at almost $1 billion more than GHO’s third fund in 2021 . GHO’s coffers have steadily grown over the years. That third fund was about double the size of the second, disclosed in 2019 . The London-based firm, short for Global Healthcare Opportunities, collected its newest fund from existing investors plus 30 new institutional backers spread across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. With about €9 billion in assets under management, GHO said it is the largest healthcare specialist PE firm based in Europe. It invests across the gamut of healthcare: biopharma, medtech, life sciences tools, diagnostics, health tech and advisory and data services. The firm backs companies such as CDMO Avid Bioservices and Scienist.com , which connects drugmakers to CROs. GHO was involved in deals for both companies in the past 12 months. GHO has more than 75 employees across Europe and the US, including 19 hired since the third fund. Its managing partners are Mike Mortimer, Alan Mackay and Andrea Ponti. They have backgrounds in banking, finance, operations and other areas. Other multibillion-dollar healthcare investment firms are currently raising their latest funds, including Blackstone Life Sciences and Patient Square Capital .

Cambrex operates in 14 locations across the globe and was picked up by Permira for $2 billion in 2019. Private equity company Permira is looking to offload its CDMO Cambrex in a sale that could value the latter company at up to $4 billion, according to a report over the weekend by the Financial Times.The sale effort comes as contract drug manufacturers benefit from the Trump administration’s onshoring push, with the president and others in the government repeatedly threatening to impose steep drug import tariffs.London-based private equity firm Permira is looking to get in on the rising investor interest in manufacturers such as Cambrex, the FT reported on Sept. 6.Permira is focused on attracting private equity buyers for Cambrex and has approached about a dozen possible suitors, the publication reported, citing multiple people familiar with the matter. While a sale is not guaranteed, the firm has hired advisors to launch the sale in the hopes of attracting a valuation of $4 billion. Permira did not immediately respond to Fierce Pharma’s request for comment.The potential transaction suggests that private equity interest in CDMOs isn’t letting up anytime soon. This summer, Cambrex’s peer and competitor PCI Pharma Services picked up a strategic investment co-led by Bain Capital and Kohlberg & Partners in a deal that valued PCI at $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on July 14. Before that, Ampersand Capital Partners and GHO Capital Partners took on CDMO Avid Bioservices late last year, shortly after Ampersand purchased a Nektar Therapeutics facility for $90 million.And, in a headline M&A deal last year, CDMO giant Catalent sold itself to Novo Holdings for about $16.5 billion.Permira, meanwhile, first picked up Cambrex in 2019 in a $2.4 billion deal. Under Permira’s ownership, the CDMO has made a number of moves to adjust its footprint and reach. In 2023, Cambrex sold its drug product business unit to Delaware-based active pharmaceutical ingredient maker Noramco in a “strategic decision to focus on core areas of growth and investment,” CEO Thomas Loewald said at the time. More recently, the company expanded its own Snapdragon Chemistry API facility in Massachusetts to boost its capabilities for peptide therapies. Cambrex purchased Snapdragon and two of its plants in 2023 to expand its API offerings.Cambrex operates 14 sites across the globe, focusing on drug product and drug substance manufacturing as well as analytical services.