BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Audax Private Equity (“Audax”) today announced that it has successfully completed the previously announced sale of Altasciences to Novo Holdings.

Altasciences is a leading, fully-integrated, early drug development services platform, providing the pharmaceutical and biotech industries with a trusted partner for drug development, from preclinical safety testing through clinical proof-of-concept studies. Headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Altasciences operates six facilities in the U.S. and Canada and employs over 1,300 people.

Audax invested in Altasciences in 2017, partnering with management to pursue strategic acquisitions and to accelerate organic growth. Altasciences completed three acquisitions under Audax’ ownership, growing its footprint and expanding its service offerings into preclinical safety testing and pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing.

Joe Rogers, Managing Director at Audax, said, “We are pleased to complete the sale of Altasciences to Novo Holdings, and wish the team well as they continue their important work. We are proud of the tremendous growth Altasciences achieved under our ownership and are confident that the business is well-positioned to continue capitalizing on the growing market for drug development services.”

Chris Perkin, Chief Executive Officer of Altasciences, added: “On behalf of the Altasciences team, I would like to thank Audax for their support during the last four years. Audax was instrumental in helping us identify and execute strategic acquisitions while furthering our organic growth initiatives. We look forward to our next chapter as part of Novo Holdings and wish Audax continued success in their future endeavors.”

Abhijeet Lele, Senior Partner, Head of Principal Investments in the U.S. at Novo Holdings, added: “The Altasciences team has done an impressive job of building an innovative company that plays an essential role in bringing innovative drugs to patients and that we believe is well-positioned to capture share in the fast-growing market for drug development services. We are excited about this investment and look forward to leveraging our network to continue growing Altasciences in collaboration with the management team.”

Harris Williams & Co. served as lead financial advisor with Rothschild & Co. and Edgemont Partners serving as co-advisors to Altasciences. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Blake, Cassels & Graydon, LLP served as legal advisors to Altasciences. Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal advisor to Novo Holdings.

About Audax Private Equity

Audax Group is a leading alternative investment manager with offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco. Since its founding in 1999, the firm has raised over $27 billion in capital across its Private Equity and Private Debt businesses. Audax Private Equity has invested over $6 billion in more than 135 platforms and over 925 add-on companies, and is currently investing out of its $3.5 billion, sixth private equity fund. Through its disciplined Buy & Build approach, Audax Private Equity seeks to help platform companies execute add-on acquisitions that fuel revenue growth, optimize operations, and significantly increase equity value. With more than 250 employees, Audax is a leading capital partner for North American middle market companies. For more information, visit the Audax Group website www.audaxgroup.com.

About Novo Holdings

Novo Holdings is a Danish private limited liability company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It is the holding company of the Novo Group, comprising Novo Nordisk A/S, Novozymes A/S and NNIT A/S, and is responsible for managing the Foundation’s assets. In addition to being the major shareholder in the Novo Group companies, Novo Holdings provides seed and venture capital to development-stage companies, takes significant ownership positions in well-established companies within life science and manages a broad portfolio of financial assets. It is the vision of Novo Holdings to be recognized as a world-leading life science investor with a focus on creating long-term value. Read more at www.novoholdings.dk.

About Altasciences

Altasciences is a forward-thinking, mid-size contract research organization offering pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies a proven, flexible approach to preclinical and clinical pharmacology studies, including formulation, manufacturing, and analytical services. For over 25 years, Altasciences has been partnering with sponsors to help support educated, faster, and more complete early drug development decisions. Altasciences’ integrated, full-service solutions include preclinical safety testing, clinical pharmacology and proof of concept, bioanalysis, program management, medical writing and biostatistics, all customizable to specific sponsor requirements. Altasciences helps sponsors get better drugs to the people who need them, faster. https://www.altasciences.com/

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