teaming up

Scientific consulting firm acquires Houston biopharmaceutical logistics company

Two Houston-area companies are joining forces. Photo via Getty Images

A private-equity backed firm has acquired a Houston tech company. The combined entity will enhance logistics for the drug industry.

ToxStrategies, headquartered in Katy, announced the acquisition of Houston-based Modality Solutions this week. ToxStrategies, a portfolio company of Pennsylvania-based Renovus Capital, did not disclose the terms of the deal.

Modality Solutions, founded in 2011 by Gary Hutchinson and Dan Littlefield, focuses on optimized "biopharmaceutical cold chain for novel, fragile, and controlled-temperature medical therapies," per a news release. The company also developed technologies for shipping validation testing. With the acquisition, Hutchison and Littlefield will continue leading Modality as a division of ToxStrategies.

"We are thrilled to become part of the ToxStrategies platform," Hutchinson says in the release. "The combination of our capabilities will provide continued growth opportunities by allowing us to engage with a broader client base, as well as with additional segments of the drug development life cycle than before."

The two Houston-area companies will combine platforms and customers, which include pharmaceutical and biotech clients who need Modality's platform for transporting and storing the increasing amount of therapies that have become more sensitive to changes in temperature.

"The partnership between ToxStrategies and Modality is an ideal strategic fit," says Laurie Couture Haws, president of ToxStrategies, in the release. "Our centralized platform will allow us to cross leverage expertise to better serve our clients across life sciences sectors."

Last November, Renovus Capital Partners backed ToxStrategies partnered with the goal of growing the company's customer base. Renovus manages over $1 billion distributed across its three sector-focused funds. Its current portfolio consists of around 25 businesses based in the United States and specializing in education and training, health care services, technology services, and professional services.

"ToxStrategies has benefitted from being one of several Renovus portfolio companies in the life sciences industry, giving it access to a vast network of relationships, capabilities, and industry expertise," Jesse Serventi, a founding partner at Renovus Capital Partners, says in the release. "We are confident that this acquisition will further enhance ToxStrategies' capabilities as a leading life sciences consultant and create numerous growth opportunities for the company."

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Originally expected to raise $150 million, Mercury's latest fund is the largest raised to date. Photo via mercuryfund.com

A Houston venture capital firm has announce big news of its latest fund.

Mercury, founded in 2005 to invest in startups not based in major tech hubs on either coast, closed its latest fund, Mercury Fund V, at an oversubscribed amount of $160 million. Originally expected to raise $150 million, Fund V is the largest fund Mercury has raised to date.

“We are pleased by the substantial support we received for Fund V from both new and existing investors and thank them for placing their confidence in Mercury,” Blair Garrou, co-founder and managing director of Mercury Fund, says in a news release. “Their support is testament to the strength of our team, proven investment strategy, and the compelling opportunities for innovation that exist in cities across America.”

The fund's limited partners include new and existing investors, including endowments at universities, foundations, and family offices. Mercury reports that several of these LPs are based in the central region of the United States where Mercury invests. California law firm Gunderson Dettmer was the fund formation counsel for Mercury.

Fresh closed, Fund V has already made investments in several companies, including:

  • Houston-based RepeatMD, a patient engagement and fintech platform for medical professionals with non-insurance reimbursed services and products
  • Houston and Cheyenne Wyoming-based financial infrastructure tech platform Brassica, which raised its $8 million seed round in April
  • Polco, a Madison, Wisconsin-based polling platform for local governments, school districts, law enforcement, and state agencies
  • Chicago-based MSPbots, a AI-powered process automation platform for small and mid-sized managed service providers

Mercury's investment model is described as "operationally-focused," and the firm works to provide its portfolio companies with the resources needed to grow rapidly and sustainably. Since 2013, the fund has contributed to creating more than $9 billion of enterprise value across its portfolio of over 50 companies.

“Over the past few years there has been a tremendous migration of talent, wealth and know-how to non-coastal venture markets and this surge of economic activity has further accelerated the creation of extraordinary new companies and technology," says Garrou. "As the first venture capital firm to have recognized the attractiveness of these incredible regions a dozen years ago, we are excited to continue sourcing new opportunities to back founders and help these cities continue to grow and thrive.”

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