Polaris Partners joins Oak HC/FT as Key Investors
August Bioservices,LLC, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) providing drug discovery, development, and pharmaceutical manufacturing services, closed a $23.6 million Series A extension, led by Polaris Partners, who joined existing investor Oak HC/FT. The proceeds will go toward expanding August’s manufacturing capacity and capabilities to advance the technology platforms needed to support production of sterile injectable medications.
As part of the financing, Brian Chee, Managing Partner of Polaris Partners, joined the August Bioservices’ board as a Director.
August Bioservices is headquartered in Nashville, TN, and is a high-tech, growth-focused, and innovative company that plays a crucial role in the global pharmaceutical industry supply chain. August Bioservices partners with biopharmaceutical and biotech companies to provide a wide array of services that help to accelerate the advancement of novel therapeutics along the drug development pathway. August’s service portfolio includes cGMP non-sterile and bulk manufacturing, aseptic fill and finish, labeling and related services. The company also provides drug formulation, process design and scale-up, analytical and stability testing, and research services that feature target validation, characterization and assay development, protein engineering and cell-line development.
“Today the CDMO market remains fragmented, and manufacturing capacity in the US has not kept pace with the surging investor interest in early-stage biotechnology. The need to expand domestic manufacturing capacity has been underscored by the pandemic and international trade disputes,” said Darren Carroll of Polaris Partners, who joined the August Bioservices board as an observer. “We see significant potential in August’s commitment to meeting the manufacturing quality standards required by world-class biopharmaceutical companies.”
In November 2020, August announced a planned $64.7 million investment to expand its Nashville manufacturing operations, which will add 180 jobs over five years. The first expansion project, which will focus on renovating August’s existing facility, includes the addition of development and manufacturing capabilities for liquid and lyophilized vials, prefilled syringes, IV bags and terminal sterilization. This renovation is expected to be completed in late 2021. The second expansion project will add a new state-of-the-art, high-speed manufacturing facility, adjacent to the existing building, which will create one contiguous campus for drug discovery, development and manufacturing in Nashville.
“We are delighted to welcome Polaris Partners to the August Bioservices team,” commented Jenn Adams, CEO of August Bioservices. “Polaris shares our focus on offering the highest quality research, development and manufacturing services to our customers as they work to provide lifesaving medications to patients who need them. We look forward to a long and productive partnership as we deploy resources toward serving the global biopharmaceutical industry with increasing impact.”
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