Water Street Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm focused exclusively on the health care industry, has acquired the Pharmaceutical Development division from AAIPharma Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

The firm said that it will commit as much as $75 million in equity financing to expand the unit’s capabilities, “with the goal of building it into the leading provider of pharmaceutical development services.” The new company is named AAIPharma Services Corp.

The company, which will retain its headquarters in Wilmington, NC, serves more than 300 large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies throughout North America. Its team of 450 scientists and professionals specialize in services that encompass the entire process of pharmaceutical drug development from discovery through commercialization. Its primary areas of expertise include analytical chemistry, formulation development, clinical packaging, oral drug delivery and contract manufacturing.

“We are thrilled to partner with Water Street to establish ourselves as an independent company,” said L. Lee Karras, who has led the business for the past three years and has been appointed the company’s chief executive officer. “In addition to providing significant capital resources, Water Street offers extensive pharmaceutical expertise that will benefit our company, employees and customers as we embark on a new strategic course. Together with Water Street, we will build on our core strengths to provide our customers with unparalleled knowledge and capabilities that will enable them to successfully navigate the complex drug development process.”

“The rising complexity of drug development and the costs related to maintaining those capabilities in-house are leading global pharmaceutical and biotech companies to increasingly turn to outside resources for assistance,” said Al Heller, an operating partner with Water Street. “AAIPharma Services goes beyond traditional levels of support to provide customers with unique expertise and capabilities that creatively address challenges that arise during drug development and manufacturing. The company is highly regarded for collaborating with customers to ensure they consistently achieve high-quality results. This is the unique value proposition that we intend to build on.”

AAIPharma Services is Water Street’s second platform investment in 2009 and first investment in the life sciences sector, according to a company statement. AAIPharma’s Early Clinical and Clinical Development businesses were not part of the acquisition and will remain with AAI.

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