Petra Capital plus two provide expansion capital for pharmacy venture

Florida company stays in acquisition mode

Published December 4, 2012 by Philip Nannie

A local venture capital firm is part of a trio of companies that has provided a pharmacy company in which they invested a year ago more capital to expand.

Petra Capital Partners has committed an unspecified amount of subordinated debt to Salveo Specialty Pharmacy, a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based company also backed by Three Arch Partners out of Southern California and NewSpring Capital from the Northeast. Regions Bank also has signed on as provider of a senior credit facility for Salveo, which a year ago received nearly $30 million in funding. Salveo's new capital commitments were led by Sofinnova Ventures out of Silicon Valley.

Petra Capital officials could not be reached immediately for comment Tuesday. Salveo has used its new money to buy Los Angeles' Mission Road Pharmacy, which helps patients with oncology, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis and mental health therapies.

"Sofinnova brings to Salveo a wealth of experience in healthcare investing, providing capital and expertise to support the growth of emerging pharmaceutical and biotech companies," said Salveo CEO Jeff Freedman in a statement. "Regions has a strong healthcare lending practice and a proven track record assisting growth-oriented companies like Salveo fund their expansion plans. With the continued support of Three Arch, NewSpring and Petra, and the addition of Sofinnova and Regions to the Salveo team, we have exciting plans to expand and extend our services to meet the complex needs of our patients and customers."