Paragon Bioservices, Inc. ('Paragon'), a privately held contract research and manufacturing organization whose mission is to accelerate the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals and vaccines, announced today that it has raised $13 Million in a Series A Preferred Stock financing led by NewSpring Capital and Camden Partners.
NewSpring Capital, headquartered in Radnor, PA, invests in dynamic companies, partnering with management teams to accelerate growth and develop their businesses into market leaders. Camden Partners, located in Baltimore, MD, operates private equity funds that provide growth capital to emerging companies in the Technology-Enabled Business Services, Healthcare, and Educational sectors. 1st BridgeHouse Securities and Evergreen Advisors, LLC, Columbia, MD acted as advisors to Paragon Bioservices. All securities transactions were conducted through 1st BridgeHouse Securities, LLC, a member of FINRA and SIPC.
'Paragon is proud to take this important step with NewSpring Capital and Camden Partners,' said Paragon CEO Marco Chacon. 'This is an inflection point for the company and we are well-positioned for that next stage of accelerated growth. With 120 highly skilled and dedicated employees-including a multidisciplinary team of scientists-we will leverage our extensive expertise in applied research and process engineering, leading the way in the most challenging and promising areas of pre-clinical and Phase I and II drug discovery and development.'
'NewSpring Capital, Camden Partners and Paragon share the belief that strong leadership is pivotal to grow and build a company into a market leader. We are extremely pleased to welcome Mr. Peter L. Buzy as Paragon's Chief Operating Officer.' Pete Buzy, a CPA and Biotech veteran, has over 25 years of broad-based financial, operational and strategic planning experience. As EVP and CFO for Martek Biosciences for 13 years, Pete was instrumental in positioning the company for its $1.1 Billion sale to global science and nutrition company, Royal DSM. In 2011, Pete received the CFO of the Year Award from the Technology Council of Maryland. Prior to Martek, Pete was a partner with Ernst & Young, specializing in servicing Mid-Atlantic Technology and Biotech companies.
'I am very excited about the business prospect for Paragon,' says Buzy. 'The company has an excellent scientific team and a world-class client base. Paragon has a strong history of providing exceptional quality, scientific excellence and customer service. I am looking forward to working with Marco and the Paragon team to accelerate the growth of the company. Market factors, including the consolidation of the pharmaceutical industry and the growth of virtual biotechnology companies, positions Paragon extremely well for the future.'
'We are excited to partner with Management for this investment in Paragon,' said Dr Kapila Ratnam, Principal at NewSpring Capital, and new Paragon Board Member. 'The company holds a strong position in the CRO/CMO market-particularly in key vaccines, technology and biologics, as well as future growth opportunities in antimicrobial strategies and food safety. We look forward to help them expand and grow.'
'As a market leader in the specialty contract manufacturing industry, Paragon is well-positioned to continue bringing next-generation biologic pharmaceuticals to market,' said Dr Christopher W. Kersey, Managing Member at Camden Partners and new Paragon Board Member. 'We are excited to be partnering with the company during its next stage of growth.'
About Paragon Bioservices, Inc.
Founded in 1990, Paragon Bioservices is a CRO-CMO whose focus is biopharmaceuticals-including the production and purification of monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, viral vectors and vaccines. The company provides research services, process development, and cGMP manufacturing. Paragon's cGMP space includes microbial and mammalian suites, fill-finish and fully-segregated virus and BSL-3 facilities.