Richmond-based pharmaceutical company Phlow recently closed on a $36 million capital raise. (Photo courtesy of Phlow)
After expanding its lab footprint in Richmond, a local pharmaceutical company also has expanded its war chest with an eight-figure capital raise.
Phlow Corp. recently closed on $36 million fundraising round, company President Dan Hackman said. The company plans to use the new funds for investments in equipment and to hire more employees as it builds out its pharmaceutical ingredient development and drug manufacturing capabilities.
Phlow was founded in 2020 by CEO Eric Edwards and Frank Gupton with a goal of decreasing America’s reliance on other countries for the production of certain widely used medicines.
The company has about 50 employees. Hackman would not say how many people the company hopes to add to its ranks.
“As a rapidly growing business, we’ll always scale our headcount growth and investments to the size of the business that we’re building. We’re actively recruiting,” he said.
Dan Hackman
Hackman said Phlow employees have started to operate out of a laboratory that the firm shares with Maryland-based nonprofit U.S. Pharmacopeia in the VA Bio+Tech Park in downtown Richmond, where it has parked its research and development. Phlow plans to begin operations at its two pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing facilities in Petersburg in the next three to 12 months.
Phlow develops the ingredients used in drugs made by a third-party contract manufacturer that are then sold to hospitals in the Children’s Hospital Coalition. Hackman said Phlow eventually intends to bring the manufacturing of those drugs in-house.
Phlow began to raise funds for its most recent capital round last summer and wrapped up in March amid a challenging economic landscape, Hackman said. The company had targeted a goal of $50 million for the raise it just completed, and had raised $24.2 million by September.
“The fundraising environment has been extremely difficult and challenging but we found two things: One is our mission at Phlow to secure for our country the essential medicine supply, and then to make sure we’re working toward every American having the essential medicines they need when they need them is extraordinarily attractive to investors,” he said. “We’re really proud and thrilled that we were able to close on such a substantial financing round in this climate.”
A combination of returning investors and new investors powered the latest round. Hackman declined to identify any of them.
Phlow has raised about $56 million to date through investors. The company announced the completion of a $20 million round in early 2021.
The company is a founding member of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, a Richmond-Petersburg group that is developing a regional pharmaceutical manufacturing hub. Other members of the group include Activation Capital, the cities of Richmond and Petersburg, nonprofit drug maker Civica, U.S. Pharmacopeia and Walmart, among others.
Phlow keeps it headquarters within the Riverside on the James building at 1001 Haxall Point.
In other local startup news, Scott’s Addition-based Babylon Micro-Farms, which makes indoor hydroponic vertical farming systems, closed on an $8 million capital raise.
Richmond-based pharmaceutical company Phlow recently closed on a $36 million capital raise. (Photo courtesy of Phlow)
After expanding its lab footprint in Richmond, a local pharmaceutical company also has expanded its war chest with an eight-figure capital raise.
Phlow Corp. recently closed on $36 million fundraising round, company President Dan Hackman said. The company plans to use the new funds for investments in equipment and to hire more employees as it builds out its pharmaceutical ingredient development and drug manufacturing capabilities.
Phlow was founded in 2020 by CEO Eric Edwards and Frank Gupton with a goal of decreasing America’s reliance on other countries for the production of certain widely used medicines.
The company has about 50 employees. Hackman would not say how many people the company hopes to add to its ranks.
“As a rapidly growing business, we’ll always scale our headcount growth and investments to the size of the business that we’re building. We’re actively recruiting,” he said.
Dan Hackman
Hackman said Phlow employees have started to operate out of a laboratory that the firm shares with Maryland-based nonprofit U.S. Pharmacopeia in the VA Bio+Tech Park in downtown Richmond, where it has parked its research and development. Phlow plans to begin operations at its two pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing facilities in Petersburg in the next three to 12 months.
Phlow develops the ingredients used in drugs made by a third-party contract manufacturer that are then sold to hospitals in the Children’s Hospital Coalition. Hackman said Phlow eventually intends to bring the manufacturing of those drugs in-house.
Phlow began to raise funds for its most recent capital round last summer and wrapped up in March amid a challenging economic landscape, Hackman said. The company had targeted a goal of $50 million for the raise it just completed, and had raised $24.2 million by September.
“The fundraising environment has been extremely difficult and challenging but we found two things: One is our mission at Phlow to secure for our country the essential medicine supply, and then to make sure we’re working toward every American having the essential medicines they need when they need them is extraordinarily attractive to investors,” he said. “We’re really proud and thrilled that we were able to close on such a substantial financing round in this climate.”
A combination of returning investors and new investors powered the latest round. Hackman declined to identify any of them.
Phlow has raised about $56 million to date through investors. The company announced the completion of a $20 million round in early 2021.
The company is a founding member of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, a Richmond-Petersburg group that is developing a regional pharmaceutical manufacturing hub. Other members of the group include Activation Capital, the cities of Richmond and Petersburg, nonprofit drug maker Civica, U.S. Pharmacopeia and Walmart, among others.
Phlow keeps it headquarters within the Riverside on the James building at 1001 Haxall Point.
In other local startup news, Scott’s Addition-based Babylon Micro-Farms, which makes indoor hydroponic vertical farming systems, closed on an $8 million capital raise.
“goal of decreasing America’s reliance on other countries for the production of certain widely used medicines.” I agree with this mission, I just hope investors have the same mission because China & India can produce precursor drug ingredients at 10% of the cost in the US.
This is a national security directive from Covid, but will chasing profits erase the memory of being reliant on other countries for basic antibiotics? I hope not, but I also do not want to pay $100 for 1 round of amoxicillin.