CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals Secures $5M Series B Funding to Advance Integrated Continuous Manufacturing Platform

On September 9, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that pharmaceutical company CONTINUUS had completed a $5 million Series B financing round. The round was led by Mark Bamforth, President and CEO of Arranta Bio, with participation from Industria Macchine Automatiche (IMA) and existing investors.

Following this round of financing, CONTINUUS will leverage the proceeds to further develop its new Integrated Continuous Manufacturing (ICM) technology platform, advancing its mission to make medications more accessible and affordable for patients. CONTINUUS aims to become a global leader in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Mark Bamforth will also join the CONTINUUS Board of Directors, bringing decades of experience in commercial pharmaceutical production.

CONTINUUS, a pharmaceutical company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA, is the outcome of the collaboration between MIT and Novartis in the field of Integrated Continuous Manufacturing (ICM). CONTINUUS has raised over $23 million through financing, commercial partnerships, grants, and government contracts.

CONTINUUS is developing and implementing a new technology platform called ICM. This represents a shift in the pharmaceutical industry from traditional single-method drug manufacturing to a batch production paradigm. ICM technology enables timely, “on-demand” drug manufacturing, offering significant advantages in both production quality and cost.

A recent report indicates that 121 life-saving drugs are in short supply in the United States, forcing 70% of hospital pharmacists to cope with shortages of 50 or more medications annually. In addition to collaborating directly with generic drug manufacturers as a technology provider and contract manufacturing organization (CMO), CONTINUUS partners with pharmacy retailers and hospitals to develop a portfolio of non-patented medicines. These efforts aim to address the drug shortage challenges facing the national healthcare system.

Mark Bamforth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Arranta Bio, said, “I have long admired the innovative work of Salvatore Mascia and the CONTINUUS team and have been intrigued by the potential of this technology platform to reliably and efficiently deliver proprietary and generic medicines that are in severe shortage. I look forward to the team’s continued success.”

Andrea Semprini Cesari, Vice President of IMA and Board Member of CONTINUUS, stated, “With further investment in CONTINUUS, IMA has further advanced its strategic vision of investing in innovative drug manufacturing technologies. The technology developed by CONTINUUS represents the state-of-the-art solution in the field of continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing. Furthermore, Mark Bamforth’s appointment to the Board will bring enhanced development opportunities to CONTINUUS’s business lines.”

Salvatore Mascia, Founder and CEO of CONTINUUS, stated: “Mark has long been a role model in planning, establishing, and operating contract manufacturing organizations for pharmaceutical products. As we transition from development to manufacturing operations, his skills and expertise will help us realize our vision of fully institutionalizing continuous manufacturing models in the pharmaceutical industry.”

IMA, founded in 1961 and headquartered in Italy, is a global leader in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical equipment, specializing in automated machinery for the pharmaceutical industry.

(Compiled by Hu Yifan)