Health-centered PE firm invests US$400M to acquire CNS specialist

USA — Webster Equity Partners, a healthcare-centered private equity firm has invested more than US$400 million to acquire Corium standalone CDMO business, which will be known as Corium Pharma Solutions.

Corium, a CNS specialist based in the United States has also sold its manufacturing division to Gurnet Point Capital. The biotech also received a US$100 million investment from Webster Equity Partner.

A company spokesperson confirmed that the CDMO will be owned jointly by Webster and Gurnet Point, with no stake in the company held by Corium.

Previously, Gurnet Point paid US$500 million for ownership of the Corium business.

The CDMO, according to the companies, will focus on expanding its drug and consumer product capabilities while continuing to manufacture and supply Corium’s product, Adlarity (donepezil transdermal system).

Corium has had a number of successes in recent years, with the company receiving FDA approval for two of its drugs.

Azstarys, a biotech drug, was approved in March 2021 to treat patients with ADHD, and Adlarity, another biotech drug, was approved this year to treat dementia.

Corium is not the only company that has spun off a portion of its manufacturing operations in this manner.

Labcorp announced earlier this year that it is selling the majority of its CRO business, eight years after acquiring Covance for US$6 billion.

In addition, major corporations such as J&J, Medtronic, and 3M have announced that they will spin off their healthcare manufacturing operations into separate companies.

In the same space, Recipharm paid an undisclosed sum for the acquisition of Portuguese CDMO GenIbet, which specializes in producing biological clinical trial material and other viral vectors.

According to the company, the deal with GenIbet is part of the Swedish CDMO’s plan to expand its biologics operations with a focus on drug substance production for advanced products such as viral vectors, RNA, and microbiomes.

The acquisition provides Recipharm with a platform for developing new biologics modalities. GenIbet is headquartered in Oeiras, Portugal.

Further to that, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has agreed to sell its manufacturing facility in Kawagoe, Japan, near Tokyo, to German CDMO Adragos Pharma, for undisclosed financial terms.

The pharmaceutical industry is thought to be supported by approximately 300 pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs).

Despite increased merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, the market remains highly fragmented; the top five CDMOs account for only 15% of the market collectively.

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