KKR, a global investment firm, announced, in partnership with Flerie, the formation of a new global pharma services platform, Frontier Biosolutions (Frontier), which will invest in a portfolio of companies focused on specialized pharmaceutical services to advanced therapeutics customers.
Frontier will invest in differentiated scientific capabilities and proprietary technology platforms that address critical bottlenecks in the development and manufacturing of advanced therapeutics, a statement said.
Industry veteran and co-investor Thomas Eldered will serve as Frontier’s Executive Chairman, bringing more than 34 years of senior management expertise to the management board and drawing on his experience as Co-founder of Recipharm and as a life sciences investor at Flerie. He will be joined by Mark Quick, formerly Head of M&A at Recipharm now Partner at Flerie, Stephan Kutzer, formerly CEO at Alcami and Divisional CEO and COO at Lonza Pharma and Biotech, Danielle Young, formerly Head of Commercial Strategy at Alcami, and Phil Vanek, currently CTO at Gamma Biosciences.
As the platform’s foundational investment, funds managed by KKR and Flerie, through Frontier, have invested in Munich-based Coriolis Pharma, a global leader in formulation research and development, analytical services and non-GMP manufacturing of innovative high-value biologics and cell and gene therapy products. With its scientific expertise, Coriolis enables its clients to create high quality drug products with global commercial potential from early development to product commercialization. KKR’s investment will enable Coriolis’ continued expansion, especially into the fast-growing cell and gene therapy segment and will expand its range of services offered to customers globally.
“We are thrilled to partner with Flerie and Thomas Eldered, the experienced Board of Directors, and the team at Coriolis Pharma at a time of growing demand for specialized services to support the development of advanced therapeutics,” said Kugan Sathiyanandarajah, Managing Director and Head of KKR’s Health Care Strategic Growth business in Europe. “This platform and the investment in Coriolis Pharma are another example of our Health Care Strategic Growth platform strategy to partner with proven operators in an area we have been following for some time.”
“We are very excited to launch Frontier Biosolutions as a global platform that we believe will enable its future portfolio companies to understand and address the evolving needs in drug development,” said Thomas Eldered. “Coriolis Pharma has an industry-leading track record as a global provider of mission-critical, highly specialized formulation development services and a reputation for scientific leadership and complex problem solving. I look forward to working with the outstanding management team at Coriolis as they pursue their ambitious growth plans.”
Michael Wiggenhorn, Co-Founder of Coriolis, commented: “This investment presents a pivotal growth opportunity for Coriolis to realize our strategy and vision. The ability to leverage Frontier’s collective skills and expertise will be invaluable as we revolutionize the development process of biopharmaceutical drugs. Together with a strong suite of industry advisors and KKR’s global network and market knowledge, we will be able to position Coriolis for the future and move one step closer to our goal of making future therapies available to humankind efficiently and on time.”
KKR is investing in Coriolis Pharma through its KKR Health Care Strategic Growth Fund II, a $4.0 billion fund focused on investing in high-growth health care companies. KKR has a long track record of supporting health care companies globally, having invested approximately $19 billion in the sector since 2004.
The investment in Coriolis Pharma underscores KKR’s strong presence in the German-speaking DACH region, where KKR has invested more than €15 billion of long-term equity capital in over 30 companies since 1999. Currently, approximately 40 of KKR’s global portfolio companies operate in the DACH region.
