Case Study: Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences, Inc.

Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences specializes in development of topical drug products for pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients

Essex Woodlands initially invested in Dow Pharmaceuticals in 2005.  Dow was the premier out-sourced developer of dermatology products for large cap pharmaceutical companies.  The partnership viewed the investment as an opportunity to develop Dow’s internal drug pipeline to complement its established services business.  Within three years of the initial funding, Dow obtained six NDA approvals, successfully obtained FDA approval for an acne product and developed a robust internal pipeline.  In December 2008, Dow was sold to Valeant for $285M in upfront cash.  In 2009, Valeant bought-out the rights to future milestone obligations from Dow shareholders for an additional one-time payment of $115 million.