AFI Partners Acquires, Renames OSG Norwich Pharmaceuticals

The deal brings new investment opportunities

By Joanna Cosgrove

OSG Norwich Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical outsourcing manufacturing and packaging provider, was recently purchased by AFI Partners, a private equity group based in New York, NY. The new company is known as Norwich Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to Christopher R. Calhoun, president of Norwich Pharmaceuticals, operations at OSG’s Norwich, NY, facility will continue uninterrupted. The current leadership team will remain in place and will continue to manage the business. All current employees will also remain with the new company.

Since its inception in 2001, employment at the Norwich operation has increased 70%, from approximately 250 people in 2001, to the roughly 425 people presently. The company services the pharmaceutical industry exclusively, providing comprehensive support — from clinical trials, through scale-up, to commercial launch — to marketers of solid dose, semi-solid, and liquid pharmaceutical products. Company services include outsourced manufacturing, packaging, quality control and distribution.

In a press statement, E. J. Antonio, a managing partner at AFI, remarked that AFI is “fully prepared to make the necessary investments” to expand Norwich’s capabilities.

The types of investments will initially revolve around the company’s existing infrastructure, said Bob Calabro, Norwich’s vice president of sales and marketing. “We will continue to invest in core technology and facilities to insure our competitiveness,” he said. “For example, this year we will add Tote over press capability on our new Fette 2200 tablet press, new chiller capacity is being added, humidity control is being improved, and we are expanding/upgrading our laboratories. There will be additional investments in 2008.”

When asked about the types of competencies Norwich Pharmaceuticals might offer its customers under its new ownership, Mr. Calabro said, “There are no specific new competencies that are planned for the immediate future, [although] several complementing capabilities are under review.”

Joanna Cosgrove is the online editor at Contract Pharma. She can be reached at jcosgrove@rodpub.com.