Patrick Walsh Named CEO of Ampersand Portfolio Company

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Jun 29, 2015, 08:00 ET

WELLESLEY, Mass., June 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ampersand Capital Partners announced today that it has appointed Patrick D. Walsh as Chief Executive Officer of Avista Pharma Solutions and Accuratus Labs. Ampersand, a healthcare-focused private equity firm based in Wellesley, MA, announced the acquisition of Avista Pharma by its portfolio company Accuratus Labs from Array BioPharma earlier this month and recruited Mr. Walsh to lead the combined business. In conjunction with Mr. Walsh's appointment, Eric Hess has been named President and Chief Business Officer of the Accuratus Labs business unit.

Mr. Walsh has over 30 years of experience building high-achieving, contract development and manufacturing organizations serving the pharmaceutical industry. He will focus on expanding the service offerings of the combined business and evaluating additional acquisition opportunities. Mr. Walsh has led several high growth organizations over the course of his career including as CEO of AAIPharma Services, CEO of Kadmus Pharmaceuticals, and president and COO of Gensia Sicor. In addition to his executive experience, Mr. Walsh has served on the boards of directors of various companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and contract service and manufacturing industries.

"As a CEO, Pat has an impressive record of consistently delivering high levels of growth and shareholder value. He brings a depth of industry knowledge and leadership experience that will be essential as we look to grow the business through internal investment as well as strategic acquisitions," said David Parker, General Partner at Ampersand.

"Avista Pharma Solutions is already highly regarded for its scientific expertise and ability to solve difficult API and product development challenges, while Accuratus has a well-established track record in serving clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device, environmental monitoring, and alternate site healthcare markets," said Mr. Walsh. "I look forward to working with our management team to build strong partnerships with our contract development and manufacturing clients."

About Ampersand Capital Partners:
Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with a focus on growth equity investments in the healthcare sector. Over the past two decades, Ampersand has managed $1 billion in private equity partnerships. Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Additional information about Ampersand is available at www.ampersandcapital.com.

About Accuratus Lab Services:
Accuratus Lab Services provides GMP and GLP testing services to the medical device and biopharmaceutical industries to meet FDA standards, as well as manufacturers of EPA-regulated antimicrobial and consumer products. For more information on Accuratus, please see www.accuratuslabs.com.

About Avista Pharma Solutions:
Avista Pharma is a strategic carve-out of the CMC business from Array BioPharma Inc, a biopharmaceutical company based in Colorado. The Avista facility encompasses over 50,000 square feet of laboratory and manufacturing space and provides pharmaceutical clients with a full service offering of early scale drug substance and drug product manufacturing expertise and capabilities. For more information on Avista, please see www.avistapharma.com.

SOURCE Ampersand Capital Partners