Water Street Healthcare Partners Acquires Pharmaceutical Development Business From AAIP...( ...),Health

CHICAGO, July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Water Street Healthcare Partners, a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the health care industry, announced today that it has acquired the Pharmaceutical Development division from AAIPharma Inc. Water Street has committed up to $75 million in equity financing to expand the business' capabilities with the goal of building it into the leading provider of pharmaceutical development services. The new company is named AAIPharma Services Corp.

The company, which will retain its headquarters in Wilmington, North Carolina, serves more than 300 large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies throughout North America. Its team of 450 scientists and professionals specialize in services that encompass the entire process of pharmaceutical drug development from discovery through commercialization. Its primary areas of expertise include analytical chemistry, formulation development, clinical packaging, oral drug delivery and contract manufacturing.

"We are thrilled to partner with Water Street to establish ourselves as an independent company," said L. Lee Karras, who has led the business for the past 3 years and has been appointed the company's CEO. "In addition to providing significant capital resources, Water Street offers extensive pharmaceutical expertise that will benefit our company, employees and customers as we embark on a new strategic course. Together with Water Street, we will build on our core strengths to provide our customers with unparalleled knowledge and capabilities that will enable them to successfully navigate the complex drug development process."

In 2008, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies invested more than $115 billion in drug research and develop
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