Los Angeles, CA (August 2023) – Avante Capital Partners, a women and minority-owned private credit and structured equity firm, is pleased to announce the completion of a first lien debt and minority equity investment to support New Harbor Capital (“New Harbor”) in their acquisition of Monroe Biomedical Research (“MBR”). New Harbor is a Chicago-based private investment firm that invests in lower middle-market healthcare, education, and technology-enabled services businesses. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Monroe, NC, MBR is a leading site management organization (“SMO”) and clinical research site with a reputation for recruiting diverse patients for a variety of trials across 15+ indications.
“We are excited to partner with Avante Capital Partners in this venture,” said Bo Minarik, Principal at New Harbor. “MBR’s strong experience recruiting and retaining diverse patients in clinical trials coupled with its broad therapeutic focus is a compelling value proposition for pharma sponsors. With Avante’s support, we are poised to continue growing MBR’s capabilities and help its founders create a leading site management organization focused on quality and diversity across patients and therapies. We couldn’t be happier to have Avante’s support on this transformational journey.”
“Monroe Biomedical Research’s innovative approach to clinical trials and patient recruitment, and dedication to advancing diversity in medical research is pivotal in today’s healthcare landscape and aligns with Avante’s mission and ethos. As we support New Harbor Capital in this acquisition, we are enthusiastic about the potential advancements in medicine as well as the opportunity to invest alongside a passionate, driven, and diverse management team and Sponsor,” said Amanda Kim, Principal at Avante Capital Partners.
“Partnering with New Harbor Capital and being a part of the journey with Monroe Biomedical Research is a testament to our commitment to backing transformative healthcare initiatives. MBR’s expertise in conducting clinical trials and recruiting diverse patient populations for top-tier pharma and biotech companies is unparalleled, and we are excited to play a role in their next phase of growth and innovation,” said Paul Hayama, Partner at Avante Capital Partners.
About Avante
Avante Capital Partners is a women- and minority-owned private credit and structured equity fund headquartered in Los Angeles. Avante invests in the form of unitranche debt, mezzanine debt and minority equity in high-quality, lower middle market businesses generating at least $3 million in cash flow.