Arranta Bio announces key leadership additions of Chief Operations Officer and SVP of Business Development as it commits to a $100M investment in building end-to-end microbiome capacity

WATERTOWN, Mass., Jan. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Arranta Bio ("Arranta"), the leading microbiome contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced today the strengthening of its senior leadership team with the addition of David Stevens as Chief Operations Officer and Jason Rahal as Senior Vice President of Business Development. Arranta has committed $100M to build end-to-end capacity as the first dedicated microbiome CDMO.

As Chief Operations Officer, Dave will be responsible for driving the continued growth of Arranta's operations, including the ongoing expansion of the company's Microbiome process development center of excellence in Gainesville, FL as well as operationalizing Arranta's new best-in-class GMP facility in Watertown, MA.  He is an accomplished business leader with a demonstrated track record of success within the contract development and manufacturing services industry.

Dave brings over 20 years of broad operational and commercial experience in the CRO and CDMO sectors. Most recently, Dave served as the Senior Vice President & Head of AMRI's Drug Product business unit where he had responsibility for sales and operations. During his tenure, he led the division through a period of significant growth and capacity expansion. Prior to that, Dave held roles of increasing responsibility at Aptuit and Charles River Laboratories in the UK, Italy and USA. Dave holds an MBA in strategy, finance and marketing from the University of Edinburgh and an undergraduate degree in Business.

Jason Rahal has over 25 years of experience in biotechnology. Prior to joining Arranta as SVP of Business Development, Jason was a member of the senior management team at Cobra Biologics, a CDMO providing ATMP services including Live Biotherapeutic Products (LBPs) with facilities in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Jason initially joined Cobra as VP Business Development in 2002, as the first US based employee to establish the company's presence in North America, he was promoted to SVP Business Development in 2006.

Prior to Cobra, Jason worked at Excell Biotech, a biologics CDMO based in Edinburgh, Scotland and Stratagene Cloning Systems based in La Jolla, CA in various business development and sales positions. Jason has a strong background in molecular and cell biology, beginning his career at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL managing a molecular endocrinology laboratory with several peer reviewed publications. Jason holds a BA in Biology and Studio Art from Knox College.

"I am delighted to have two experienced leaders join Arranta Bio's senior team as we continue to build out our organization and invest in facilities as the leading end-to-end dedicated CDMO supporting microbiome pioneers with our services" said Mark Bamforth, President & CEO of Arranta.

Almost 200 companies are actively exploring the linkage between diseases and the microbiome – millions of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses that live inside and on the human body – in order to identify therapeutic targets. Scientists have called it the second genome, and in fact, the number of genes in the microbes making up one person's microbiome is estimated to be at least 200 times the number in the human genome.

Over the last decade, there has been rapid acceleration in scientific understanding of the composition and functions of the gut microbiota. Arranta is proud to be the leading CDMO focused on supporting the supply needs of these innovators.

About Arranta Bio
Founded in 2019, Arranta Bio is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specifically established to focus on serving companies seeking to develop and commercialize therapies targeting the human microbiome. Arranta Bio acquired Captozyme^TM – the leader in process development and clinical contract manufacturing for microbiome pioneers – whose experienced team has worked with and developed processes for over 125 different species spanning 80 different genera of live biotherapeutics since 2009. Headed by a management team and technical experts with a proven track record in both process development and contract manufacturing through fermentation to lyophilization and encapsulation of live biopharmaceuticals, Arranta offers the knowledge and resources necessary to help clients develop and manufacture promising new microbiome therapies to meet the needs of patients. Additional information about Arranta is available at www.arrantabio.com. Enquiries can be sent to [email protected]

About Ampersand Capital Partners
Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston, MA and Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ampersand leverages a unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of its core healthcare sectors, including Avista Pharma Solutions, Brammer Bio, Confluent Medical, Genewiz, Genoptix, Talecris Biotherapeutics, and Viracor-IBT Laboratories. Additional information about Ampersand is available at www.ampersandcapital.com  

Arranta Bio Media contact:
Guy Tiene
That's Nice LLC
T: +1 212 366 4455
E: [email protected]

SOURCE Arranta Bio

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