AAIPharma Services Corp. Names Patrick Walsh Chief Executive Officer

WILMINGTON, N.C., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- AAIPharma Services Corp., a leading provider of pharmaceutical product development services for more than 30 years, announced today that it has appointed Patrick D. Walsh to chief executive officer.  Water Street, a strategic private equity firm focused exclusively on health care that acquired AAIPharma Services in a divestiture transaction from its parent company in 2009, was instrumental in recruiting Mr. Walsh to the position.  

Mr. Walsh, who has nearly 30 years of pharmaceutical manufacturing experience, will focus on advancing AAIPharma's next phase of strategic growth following its establishment as a standalone company.  Mr. Walsh has served in executive roles at multiple pharmaceutical companies, including as president and CEO of Kadmus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and president and COO of Gensia Sicor.  He also served as CEO of a specialty diagnostic company, and led the U.S. and international business groups for Fujisawa USA.  Most recently, Mr. Walsh founded a management consulting firm that assisted companies with achieving key corporate objectives in the pharmaceutical, contract manufacturing and biotechnology industries.

"Pat has an impressive record of consistently leading pharmaceutical businesses to achieve high levels of growth over the course of his career.  He is the ideal executive to advance AAIPharma Services forward, as we focus on pursuing growth opportunities through a combination of organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions.  Pat's core skills of business development, relationship-building, and sales and marketing will contribute significantly to AAIPharma and our goal of building it into the leading provider of pharmaceutical development services," said Pete Strothman, a principal with Water Street and a member of AAIPharma Services' board of directors.

In addition to his executive experience, Mr. Walsh has served on the boards of directors of more than 10 companies in the pharmaceutical and contract manufacturing industries.  L. Lee Karras, who led AAIPharma Services through its transition to an independent company, will continue in his role as president and will also assume the responsibility of chief operating officer.  He will work closely with Mr. Walsh to implement the company's strategic growth plan.

"AAIPharma Services is highly regarded for its expertise and ability to collaborate with its customers to consistently deliver high-quality results.  It is this unique value proposition, which the company has honed over the past 30 years that will serve as the foundation for our future," said Mr. Walsh.  "I look forward to working with the team to determine how we can best build on the company's core capabilities to provide even greater value to our customers and expand our presence on a much greater scale globally."

About AAIPharma Services Corporation

AAIPharma Services Corp. is a leading provider of services that encompass the entire process of pharmaceutical drug development from discovery through commercialization. The company specializes in analytical chemistry, formulation development, clinical packaging, oral drug delivery and contract manufacturing. AAIPharma Services serves more than 300 large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies throughout North America.  It is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.  For more information on the company, visit www.aaipharma.com.

About Water Street Healthcare Partners

Water Street Healthcare Partners is a strategic private equity firm focused exclusively on health care.  The firm has a strong record of building market-leading companies across key growth sectors in health care.  It has partnered with some of the world's leading health care companies on its investments including: Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic and Smith & Nephew.  Water Street's team is comprised of industry executives and private equity professionals with decades of experience investing in and operating global health care businesses.  The firm is headquartered in Chicago.  For more information about Water Street, visit www.wshp.com.

SOURCE AAIPharma Services Corp.