Harvard Drug Group, a distributor of generic drugs with nearly half-a-billion dollars in sales, has been purchased by a New York private equity firm for an undisclosed sum.
Court Square Capital Partners is the buyer, according to a statement from the seller, another private equity firm, H.I.G. Capital.
Founded in 1967, Harvard Drug is the largest independent generics-focused pharmaceutical distributor in the U.S., according to the statement. Since Harvard Drug is merely being traded from one private equity firm to another, the deal is unlikely to have much impact on its operations.
H.I.G. acquired the company in 2006. Under H.I.G’s ownership, Harvard Drug doubled its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) to $50 million, according to Lewis Schoenwetter, a managing director with H.I.G.
Harvard Drug has 400 employees and distribution facilities in Livonia, Mich.; Indianapolis, Ind.; and Decatur, Ala.
Court Square’s previous health care investments include Amgen Inc., HealthSouth Corp. and Amerisource Corp.
A Court Square official didn’t immediately return a call.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Photo from flickr user rodrigo senna
