Acura Bio - Case Update

Anthony Connelly, Jamie Harris and Mark Holland of McGrathNichol have given an update on their administration of Acura Bio, a Brisbane-based biopharmaceutical contract manufacturer which entered voluntary administration on 13 July. Formerly known as Luina Bio, the company was acquired last year by biotech investor Dr. Glenn Haifer and US private equity group Ampersand Capital Partners. Following the acquisition, various reputational and product quality issues emerged, which resulted in various customer contracts being terminated, significant credits being provided to customers for future work and cash settlements. The business was also hurting from insufficient capital investments when it was acquired. The new investors put more than $16 million into the business to reduce liabilities and improve plant and equipment. An assessment of operations indicated additional capital was still required to support the business, which the investors were not willing to advance. The decision was then made to put the company into voluntary administration. No DOCA is being proposed, and administrators are recommending that the company be placed in liquidation. Unsecured creditors are not expected to see a return on their claims.