Avista Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused exclusively on healthcare, has invested in eMolecules, an e-procurement platform for high-value chemicals and bioreagents used by pharmaceutical companies in drug discovery.

“As pharma companies seek to simplify their supply chains and accelerate speed to market, eMolecules helps expedite drug discovery programs by reducing the barriers, time and costs associated with acquiring important research chemicals and biologic products,” said Sriram Venkataraman, partner at Avista Capital Partners. “Avista is excited to support the growth potential eMolecules has demonstrated among its existing base of blue chip pharma customers, as well as its expansion into other biopharma and academic customers. Additionally, we see significant runway for the eMolecules business model in a number of critically important product areas.”

“eMolecules has rapidly become the world’s most popular source for synthetic building blocks based on its reputation for quality, fast delivery times and our unrivalled product offering,” commented eMolecules CEO Niko Gubernator. “Our close partnerships with 14 of the 15 top pharma and biopharma procurement departments has revolutionized scientists’ ability to access these valuable reagents. In Avista, we have identified a partner who shares our perspective on how vital the customer is in building marketplace businesses. Moreover, everyone’s expectations for the pace of drug discovery have changed as a function of the world’s shared experience with the pandemic and we see Avista as the perfect partner to help us rapidly scale our business in response.”

Robert W. Baird & Co. served as exclusive financial advisor to eMolecules. Paul Hastings LLP served as legal advisor to eMolecules, and Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal advisor to Avista.