Baltimore CRO Paragon Bioservices has raised a $13 million A round, money it'll spend to stretch out its offerings in biologics R&D and manufacturing.
The cash comes courtesy of NewSpring Capital and Camden Partners, who are buying into Paragon as it aims to expand its client base and share of the outsourcing market. The company is a hybrid CRO and CMO focused on biological products, offering purifying and producing monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, viral vectors and vaccines.
In addition to its new funding, Paragon is fleshing out its top ranks, recruiting Pete Buzy, a veteran of biotech nutrition outfit Martek Biosciences, to serve as chief operating officer and adding NewSpring's Kapila Ratnam and Camden's Christopher Kersey to its board. Those moves will help Paragon stand out in its space as it moves forward, CEO Marco Chacón said.
"This is an inflection point for the company and we are well-positioned for that next stage of accelerated growth," Chacón said in a statement. "With 120 highly skilled and dedicated employees--including a multidisciplinary team of scientists--we will leverage our extensive expertise in applied research and process engineering, leading the way in the most challenging and promising areas of pre-clinical and Phase I and II drug discovery and development."
Beyond its existing capacity in biologics, the company sees a path to growth in antimicrobial testing and food safety, Ratnam said, and its $13 million fundraise will help pave its way into new markets.
- read the statement