AGIC exits healthcare business Ritedose to Novo Holdings
AGIC Capital, which specializes in cross-border deals along the China-Europe axis, has agreed to sell pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging business Ritedose Corporation to Novo Holdings.
The size of the transaction was not disclosed. AGIC acquired Ritedose from Olympus Partners in 2017 in conjunction with Humanwell Healthcare, a Chinese drugmaker. The goal was to accelerate growth in the US and expand into Europe and Asia, with strong support for a China landing strategy.
Founded in 1995, Ritedose’s primary business is the outsourced production of ophthalmology and respiratory drugs as well as vaccines. It uses blow-fill-seal (BFS) manufacturing, whereby plastic containers are blow-moulded, filled with liquid product, and sealed in one continuous operation under aseptic processing conditions.
The company also has its own portfolio of generic drugs and is an emerging player in the outsourced sterile compounding market, focusing on medically necessary drugs that are in short supply.
Ritedose’s customers range from small start-ups and large pharmaceutical companies to wholesalers, retail pharmacies and hospital systems. It employs more than 400 people under the leadership of CEO Jody Chastain, who will remain in place once Novo Holdings assumes ownership.
“The investment in Ritedose is perfectly aligned with our deep expertise in pharma services. We see myriad opportunities to have an impact at Ritedose. We are also particularly excited to be at the vanguard of increasing vaccine availability through the use of blow-fill-seal injectable technology,” said Abhijeet Lele, a senior partner and head of principal investments for Novo Holdings in the US, in a statement.
Novo Holdings manages the wealth of Denmark’s Novo Nordisk Foundation, which has controlling stakes in diabetes care specialist Novo Nordisk and bioinnovation player Novozymes. It has USD 62bn in assets, of which USD 19bn is deployed in financial and life sciences investments. The life sciences portfolio is split into four strategies based on size and maturity.
Novo Holdings established an Asia life sciences investment team in Singapore last year. It has since backed the likes of Indonesia’s Halodoc, Singapore medical equipment manufacturer Esco Lifesciences, and Singapore and US-based Hummingbird Bioscience.
Ritadose represents AGIC’s second announced healthcare exit in recent months, following an agreement to sell medical laser manufacturer Fotona to Vitruvian Partners. Last September, the firm closed its second fund with USD 1.2bn in commitments.
Humanwell has previous experience partnering with private equity on China cross-border deals. It teamed up with CITIC Capital – now Trustar Capital – to acquire the sexual wellness division of Australia’s Ansell in 2017. The Chinese company reduced its position from 60% to 20% last year, selling to Hillhouse Capital, Boyu Capital, and CareCapital Partners.
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