BioWorld International Correspondent

CMC Biotech A/S raised DKK300 million (US$36.4 million) in debt and equity financing to fund the construction of a new 8,300-square-meter facility.

European Equity Partner, of London and Paris, and P/S BankInvest Biomedicinsk Venture III, of Copenhagen, Denmark, funded the equity investment portion of the transaction, contributing DKK50 million and DKK45 million, respectively. The Danish government's investment fund, Vaekstfonden; Amagerbanken, of Copenhagen; and TK Development, of Aalborg, Denmark, supplied the debt financing. BankInvest led the company's DKK20 million seed round last year.

Copenhagen-based CMC Biotech, an early stage contract biopharmaceutical manufacturing firm, was established in 2001 by six former employees of Novo Nordisk A/S and its industrial enzymes spin-out, Novozymes A/S, both of Bagsvaerd, Denmark. The company specializes in the manufacture of clinical-grade pharmaceuticals for use in clinical trials. Its existing facilities limit it to Phase I trial quantities, however. Company CEO Mads Lausten told BioWorld International that the current funding would be sufficient to expand beyond its present construction plans and to reach positive cash flow. The new facility is due to come online in 2004.

CMC Biotech is addressing the anticipated gap between demand for biopharmaceutical manufacturing services and the available capacity. "There are expansions going on. It will be difficult to keep up with demand for capacity," Lausten said. The company is targeting discovery-focused biotechnology companies that lack manufacturing expertise and pharmaceutical firms that opt to outsource part of their production activities.