Cambrex acquires Avista for $252m, becomes integrated CDMO

21-Nov-2018 - Last updated on 12-Aug-2019 at 17:12 GMT

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Cambrex is set to acquire Avista and enter the market of early stage small molecule development and testing.

Avista, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), will continue to offer a broad range of services ranging from drug product development and current good manufacturing process (cGMP) manufacturing to stand-alone analytical, microbiology testing and solid-state sciences.

Through this acquisition, Cambrex – which manufactures small molecule and generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished dosage forms – will become an integrated small molecule CDMO providing services across the entire drug lifecycle.

The $252m (€221.6) deal is expected to be funded with a combination of cash and borrowings under Cambrex’s existing revolving credit facility.

Avista has four facilities, three located throughout the US and one in Edinburg, Scotland. Upon completion of the transaction, Avista is expected to generate roughly $65m in annual revenue. Avista’s 300 employees will join Cambrex’s 1,700 employees across the US and Europe.

Avista is a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners, a health care private equity firm. Recently, Neomed-Labs and Pacific Biomarkers were merged following an acquisition made by Ampersand partners.

Completion of the transaction is expected to occur during the fourth quarter of 2018.