AAIPharma raises $30 million

Wilmington, USA-based AAIPharma says it has raised $30.0 million by way of a rights offering to existing share and option holders. The offering was backstopped by a group of principal shareholders led by JP Morgan and the proceeds will be used to accelerate and enhance the development and growth of the company's core service business.

"The closing of this financing is yet another major step in the relaunch of our company as an important player in the drug development industry," said Ludo Reynders, AAIPharma's chief executive, adding: "raising capital at this time allows us to respond quickly to growth opportunities in the areas of process innovation, service specialization, and geographic expansion."

"AAIPharma has used a portion of the proceeds from the rights offering to fund the acquisition of Cvitkovic & Associes Consultants SA," said Rachel Selisker, chief financial officer of AAIPharma.