NextPharma Technologies completes Euro 30m fundraising and acquires Bioserv Corporation

UK-based contract services provider NextPharma Technologies has completed a Euro 30m fundraising round.

Of the funds raised, €16m is to be invested in expanding the capabilities of the company's cytotoxics manufacturing site in Braine L'Alleud, Belgium. This investment will more than double the capacity of the facility to manufacture oncology medicines, which will come on stream to service North America, Europe and Japan in 2009.

The expansion of the company's manufacturing capacity dovetails with the 2006 investment in a new sterile product development centre that will be capable of manufacturing clinical trials materials for cytotoxic and biologic classes of medicines from the beginning of September 2007.

NextPharma has also acquired Bioserv Corporation, an FDA-approved contract manufacturing company based in San Diego, California. The acquisition complements the existing sterile product development capabilities at Braine L'Alleud and provides a platform for developing NextPharma's product development services and contract manufacturing business in North America.

"This fund raising enables our business to be a truly global player, responding to the growing needs and direction of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries," said Bill Wedlake, ceo of NextPharma. "The acquisition of Bioserv will create a platform to grow our sterile business in the US and is a further step in our ambition to transform NextPharma into the world's leading provider of sterile contract fill-finish, lyophilisation and cold chain storage services."

Bioserv provides a range of services, including aseptic and non-aseptic bulk formulation, filtration, filling and lyophilisation services, plus packaging, labelling, validation, documentation services, and controlled product and cold chain storage. Its customers include small and large corporations worldwide in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries.