Avanti Polar Lipids Agrees to be Acquired by Croda

ALABASTER, Alabama, July 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc. ("Avanti" or the "Company") today announces it has agreed to be acquired by Croda International Plc ("Croda"). The combination of two life science leaders brings together Avanti's expertise in lipid-based drug delivery solutions through its research products and pharmaceutical services and Croda's range of life science products and cGMP manufacturing capabilities to expand their respective breadth of products and services for biotechnology businesses, academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies globally.

Avanti was founded in 1967 by Dr. Walter and Rowena Shaw and is a leader in the development and manufacturing of high-purity lipids that are increasingly utilized as drug delivery solutions for complex therapeutic drugs and next generation mRNA vaccines. The Company operates from its campus in Alabama with its skilled workforce of approximately 150 employees, including over 100 scientists. Throughout Avanti's history it has been an innovator in lipid based products and applications for the life sciences markets and currently serves thousands of leading biopharmaceutical companies and researchers around the world.

The Company has two primary revenue streams in research products and pharmaceutical services. Since the Company's founding it has been a leader in developing lipids for life science research and currently offers over 2,000 lipid and adjuvant products serving over 3,000 customers globally. The Company also offers pharmaceutical services where it leverages its lipid based expertise to develop and supply drug delivery solutions for complex therapeutics. Avanti provides a comprehensive range of services from formulation and analytical services through cGMP manufacturing of synthetic lipids and adjuvants for clinical and commercial applications.

Avanti's know-how and technologies are highly complementary to Croda's capabilities in drug delivery systems, vaccine adjuvants and immunotherapy. Avanti will be able to combine its leading position in pharmaceutical lipid-based applications with Croda's access to global markets, greater manufacturing capacity and a broader set of capabilities to expand the range of products and services for the combined customer base.

Avanti will continue to operate under the Avanti brand and be led by the current management team. It will be part of Croda's Life Sciences sector and sit within its Health Care business.

Dr. Walter Shaw, CEO of Avanti, commented: "We are delighted to join Croda, which shares a common vision of innovation to deliver products and services to solve pressing healthcare needs around the world.  Avanti has been my life's work, I am extremely proud of what the Avanti family has accomplished to date and I could not think of a better partner to continue to support our customers and talented employees in their pursuit of solving complex drug delivery challenges in the future."

Steve Foots, CEO of Croda, commented: "We have long admired the Avanti team for their deep scientific know-how and are already working together on high-potential commercial opportunities. With their exciting drug delivery technologies, Avanti is a market leader in a high growth niche of the health care market, serving over 3,000 customers globally. Bringing Avanti's best-in-class expertise into Croda also significantly enhances our presence across the pharma product lifecycle, including early stage R&D, clinical trials, analysis and formulation. I am confident that Avanti will prove transformative to the capabilities and performance of our Life Sciences sector."

BlackArch Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to Avanti. Maynard Cooper & Gale served as legal advisor to Avanti.

About Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc.:

More at: www.avantilipids.com 

Avanti specializes in the development and production of high-purity polar lipids that are increasingly being used in next-generation drug delivery technology and vaccines. It has two primary revenue streams:

• Research Products: sales of a wide range of high-purity lipid products for pharmaceutical research and development
• Pharmaceutical Services: comprehensive liposomal drug delivery development and production solutions. In addition to its formulation and analytical capabilities, Avanti provides a production capability, to the highest quality and regulatory standards (known as Good Manufacturing Practice or GMP), to support customers' drug development, clinical trials and commercial supply of novel drug delivery systems.

With its extensive portfolio, Avanti serves biotechnology and large pharmaceutical companies around the world. 

About Croda:

More at www.croda.com

Established in 1925, Croda is the name behind sustainable, high performance ingredients and technologies in some of the world's most successful brands: creating, making and selling speciality chemicals that are relied on by industries and consumers everywhere.

Croda is a FTSE100 company with over 4,500 passionate and innovative employees, working across manufacturing sites and offices around the world with a shared Purpose to use Smart Science to Improve Lives™. As part of this Purpose, and with around two thirds of its organic raw materials already from bio-based sources, Croda has committed to be the most sustainable supplier of innovative ingredients, becoming Climate, Land and People Positive by 2030. 

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SOURCE Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc.