WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On August 26, 2019, CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals Inc., a leading technology company working on continuous manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, completed a $5 M Series B financing. This round was led by Mark Bamforth, President & CEO at Arranta Bio, with participation by IMA Industria Macchine Automatiche and other investors from previous rounds. Bamforth will also join the Board of Directors of CONTINUUS, bringing decades of experience in commercial pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The new funds will be used to further CONTINUUS’s mission of making drugs more accessible and affordable to patients. Through further investments in technology and personnel, CONTINUUS plans to become a major player in drug manufacturing worldwide. In addition to working directly with innovator and generic companies as a technology supplier and future provider of contract manufacturing services, CONTINUUS is developing a portfolio of off-patent drugs in collaboration with pharmacy retailers and hospitals. These efforts will address a major issue facing healthcare systems across the country – drug shortages. In fact, a recent report showed there are 121 lifesaving drugs in short supply in the United States, forcing 70% of hospital pharmacists to contend with 50 or more shortages a year.
CONTINUUS has recently completed final pilot plant studies that integrate synthesis with formulation in the same continuous line, and is now anticipating the build-out of its flagship commercial manufacturing facility to begin later this year. The company is also working with government agencies, such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance the understanding and state of this novel manufacturing platform.
“I have admired the pioneering work of Salvatore Mascia and the team at CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals from the early days and been intrigued by the potential of this technology platform to reliably and efficiently deliver proprietary pharmaceuticals and generics that are in critical short supply and look forward to supporting the team’s continued success,” said Mark Bamforth, President and CEO of Arranta Bio. Previously, Bamforth founded and led Gallus BioPharmaceuticals and Brammer Bio, which are both now a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
“By this further investment in CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals, IMA confirms once again its strategic vision of investing in new, innovative technologies for pharmaceutical manufacturing,” said Andrea Semprini Cesari, VP IMA Active Division and CONTINUUS Board Member. “The technologies developed by CONTINUUS represent the most advanced solutions in the pharmaceutical continuous manufacturing sector. Furthermore, the addition of new capabilities, as well as Mark Bamforth to the Board of Directors, will lead to opportunities for growth and development for CONTINUUS's business lines.” IMA., a strategic partner of CONTINUUS, is a leading global pharmaceutical equipment manufacturer that focuses on drug product unit operations, such as tableting machines.
“We could not have found a better person than Mark Bamforth for this next phase of the company,” said Salvatore Mascia, Founder and CEO of CONTINUUS. “Mark has been a role model for the industry in how to effectively plan, build, and run contract manufacturing businesses for pharmaceutical products. As we transition from development to manufacturing operations, his skills and expertise will be invaluable to achieve our vision for a pharmaceutical industry that operates in a fully-continuous mode.”
About the Technology
CONTINUUS is developing and implementing a novel technology platform called Integrated Continuous Manufacturing (ICM). This represents a paradigm shift from the outdated methodology currently employed by the pharma industry, batch manufacturing. With ICM, the synthesis of the active ingredient and the final dosage form are integrated into a single seamless process, allowing for timely “on-demand” manufacturing of drugs with significant advantages in production lead time, quality, and costs.
About the Company
CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Woburn, MA. The company is a spin-out from a collaboration between MIT and Novartis on integrated continuous manufacturing (ICM), and is leveraging ICM to improve affordability and accessibility of pharmaceuticals on a global scale. CONTINUUS has raised over $23 M, through financing rounds, commercial collaborations, grants, and government contracts. For more information, visit: http://continuuspharma.com
