Leading Pharma, LLC, a privately-owned generic pharmaceutical company that manufactures, markets, and distributes products to drug chains, wholesalers, and other channels, announced today that on December 28, 2017 it completed a financing transaction for $40 million of growth capital. The transaction was led by Signet Healthcare Partners in addition to Crestline Investors with other investors comprised of Cane Investment Partners and existing Leading Pharma members. Concurrently, Nikhil Puri, Managing Director at Signet Healthcare Partners, and Chris Semple, Managing Director at Crestline Investors, will join the board of directors of Leading Pharma's parent company. The growth capital will be used to support Leading Pharma's research and development (R&D) investments in expanding the company's diverse pipeline of generic products and to repay existing indebtedness.
Ronald Gold, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Leading Pharma, stated, "This investment allows us to accelerate the development of our robust pipeline to build a more comprehensive product portfolio. We are excited to partner with prudent investors who have experience in the pharmaceutical industry and believe in our business model as well as our ability to develop and market new generic drugs."
Since the acquisition of Excellium Pharmaceutical, Inc. in 2014, Leading Pharma has evolved from exclusively outsourcing product development work into a vertically-integrated generic pharmaceutical company with internal R&D capabilities. The company operates a 53,000 square foot manufacturing plant dedicated to oral solid pharmaceuticals.
"I believe Leading Pharma has the necessary building blocks in place, and is well positioned to capitalize on the vast opportunity that the generic pharma sector presents," said Nikhil Puri, Managing Director at Signet Healthcare Partners. "Signet is very pleased to be partnering with the company at this important juncture, and we look forward to close collaboration with the leadership team at Leading Pharma."
"Under the leadership of industry veterans Ron Gold and Rasik Gondalia, Leading Pharma is well-positioned to capitalize on its development strategy as the company has built an attractive pipeline of diverse, difficult-to-formulate products," said Chris Semple, Managing Director at Crestline Investors. "We look forward to continued growth at the company under Ron and Rasik, who have both successfully founded and exited generic pharmaceutical companies in prior ventures."
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP acted as legal counsel for Leading Pharma and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP acted as legal counsel for Crestline and Signet. Atigun Capital Partners provided consulting support to Leading Pharma and the investors during the transaction.
About Leading Pharma, LLC
Leading Pharma, LLC is a privately-owned generic pharmaceutical company that purchases, licenses, develops, manufactures, and distributes high-quality, safe and effective products to drugstore chains, distributors, wholesalers, mass merchandisers, government agencies and managed care accounts in the U.S. Leading Pharma's products are available in various dosage forms across many therapeutic areas under the Leading Pharma label. For more information, visit www.leadingpharma.com.
About Signet Healthcare Partners
Signet Healthcare Partners is an established provider of growth capital to innovative healthcare companies. Signet invests in commercial-stage healthcare companies that are revenue generating or preparing for commercial launch. The firm's focus has primarily been on the pharmaceutical sector and medical technology companies. Signet maintains a disciplined, yet flexible investment approach. As an active investor, Signet partners closely with its companies to build their value including facilitating activities between portfolio companies. During Signet's 18-year history, it has developed a strong reputation and track record of successful investments. Signet has raised four funds with total capital commitments of over $400 million and has invested in more than 45 companies. For more information, visit www.signethealthcarepartners.com.
About Crestline Investors
Crestline Investors, Inc., founded in 1997 and based in Fort Worth, Texas, is an institutional alternative investment management firm with approximately $9.4i billion of assets under management. Crestline specializes in credit and opportunistic investments, including financing and restructuring solutions for mature private equity funds. In addition, the firm manages a multi-PM equity market-neutral hedge fund, and provides Beta and Hedging Solutions for Institutional clients. The company maintains affiliate offices in New York City, Chicago, London, Toronto and Tokyo. For more information, visit www.crestlineinvestors.com.
