Cambrex Corporation, the leading manufacturer of small molecule innovator and generic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, and finished dosage forms, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Avista Pharma Solutions, a contract development, manufacturing, and testing organization, for approximately $252m. Avista is a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners, a leading healthcare focused private equity firm. With this acquisition, Cambrex will enter the large and growing market for early stage small molecule development and testing services. “We are excited to announce our acquisition of Avista, which further rounds out our small molecule service offering by adding a full complement of early stage development capabilities for both API and finished dosage form as well as comprehensive analytical testing services." Steve Klosk, Cambrex President and CEO. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur during the fourth quarter of 2018.