Water Street Invests in Generic Injectable Drug Services Company

Health Care Firm Recruits Former Bedford Laboratories Executive to Spearhead Custopharm's Growth

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Feb 03, 2015, 08:01 ET

CHICAGO, Feb. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Water Street Healthcare Partners, a strategic investor focused exclusively on the health care industry, announced today that it has invested in Custopharm, Inc., a generic injectable drug services company. Water Street's team, which has years of experience in the pharmaceutical services sector, has committed equity to both acquire and expand the Carlsbad, Calif.-based company. The health care firm has recruited William Larkins, Ph.D., former vice president and general manager of Bedford Laboratories, to serve as chief executive officer of Custopharm.

"Water Street's partnership with us is much greater than a financial one," said Dave McCleary, co-founder and president, Custopharm. "Over the past year, its team has worked with us to develop a strategic plan and engage an experienced leader who will help us build Custopharm into a premier provider of generic injectable drug services. I am excited to work with Bill and the Water Street team to offer our customers more extensive services long-term."

Custopharm specializes in generic injectable product development and regulatory consulting services. Its team of scientists has completed formulation and methods work on a range of generic injectable products. The company has drafted and filed hundreds of abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) on behalf of its customers. Founded in 2005, Custopharm has grown to serve more than 100 organizations across the pharmaceutical industry.

"Generic injectable products are a multi-billion dollar industry growing at a double-digit annual rate," said Alan Heller, operating partner, Water Street. "Custopharm excels at sourcing materials and completing formulations to develop high-quality generic injectable products. We will expand the company's development capabilities and regulatory consulting services to meet the increasing demand for generic injectable products as more branded drugs come off patent."

Mr. Heller, who has more than 35 years of leadership experience in life sciences, will serve as chairman of Custopharm. Prior to joining Water Street, he was president and chief executive officer of American Pharmaceutical Partners Inc. (APPI). Dan Robins, Ph.D., and George Zorich, who both have extensive experience in the generic injectable drug industry, will also join the board of directors.

"It is rare to have an opportunity to work with such an impressive group of executives," said Dr. Larkins. "This board brings experience from all perspectives of the generic injectable industry. I look forward to working together to build on Custopharm's strong foundation."

Custopharm is Water Street's sixth investment in the pharmaceutical sector in the past six years. In 2013, Water Street partnered with one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies to create the drug development company Celerity Pharmaceuticals. It also invested in Temptime Corporation, which specializes in time-temperature indicators for medical products. Last year, the health care firm merged BioClinica, Inc. and CCBR-SYNARC to create a leading global provider of specialty outsourced clinical trial services. Water Street also owned AAIPharma Services, Inc., now part of Cambridge Major Laboratories Inc. and OraPharma, Inc., which was acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. in 2012.

Water Street is continuing to seek new opportunities to partner with middle-market companies interested in achieving next-level growth and corporations considering divesting non-core health care businesses. The firm targets investments ranging from $50 to $500 million in four health care sectors: specialty distribution, medical and diagnostic products, health care services, and pharmaceutical products and services.

About Water Street

Water Street is a strategic investor 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 worked with some of the world's leading health care companies on its investments including Gentiva, 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 waterstreet.com.

SOURCE Water Street Healthcare Partners