Bend Bioscience and QHP Capital, the management company for NovaQuest Private Equity, plan to invest in a new operation in Bend, OR, an emerging biotechnology R&D and manufacturing hub.  The Bend Bioscience team, as part of CoreRx, will focus on drug delivery R&D partnerships, product development, and early phase manufacturing for enhanced formulations utilizing particle engineering-based drug delivery technologies. 
 
“This is an exciting development,” said Ajay Damani, CEO of CoreRx and Bend Bioscience, “with Bend Bioscience adding a new dimension of technology and innovation capabilities to CoreRx’s existing foundation of product development and manufacturing solutions.”
 
This investment includes approximately 20,000 sq.-ft of lab, processing suites, and office space for 50 employees.  This includes state-of-the-art lab and process equipment and processing space designed to meet the quality and safety standards for pharmaceutical clients and regulatory agencies. Bend Bioscience is expected to begin operations in its R&D and innovation lab as early as December of this year, with additional manufacturing and analytical capabilities operational in mid-2023. 
 
“We feel Bend Bioscience will fill an unmet need, said Dan Dobry, Bend Bioscience’s co-founder and CoreRx’s Chief Strategy Officer, “offering problem solving, formulation, and manufacturing for valuable but challenging therapies and collaborating to develop new technologies for the rapidly evolving problem statements in the in pharmaceutical industry.”
 
Key areas of expertise and infrastructure for the Bend Bioscience team will include bioavailability enhancement, solid dosage form development, stabilization of biologics and vaccines, and particle engineering for pulmonary delivery. This investment follows recent additions of expertise to the CoreRx team including Amber Broadbent, Scott Bone, and Michael Grass, who bring experience in these fields.