The contract drug manufacturer that bought Bend startup Agere Pharmaceuticals last year hopes to raise as much as $670 million in an initial public offering.

Patheon, based in Durham, North Carolina, announced Monday that it would offer 30.5 million shares and expects a per-share price range of $19 to $22.

If investors bite at the midpoint of that range, Patheon would raise $625 million. Patheon will use the proceeds to pay off $550 million in debt, according to the company announcement.

The company said shares will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PTHN.”

A Patheon spokeswoman did not respond to a message from The Bulletin, but pharmaceutical-industry and financial news outlets expect the Patheon IPO to price next week, which is the point at which it would begin trading.

A successful IPO could benefit anyone who had a stake in Agere and received Patheon shares as a result of the March 20, 2015, acquisition of Agere for $27.1 million.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Patheon said it paid $20.3 million in cash, and the remaining $6.8 million was paid in the form of equity. The filing does not state who received the equity, or the number of units.

In addition, Patheon issued Class A units to “an executive of Agere Pharmaceuticals in exchange for a defined amount of the individual’s stock in Agere,” according to the filing. Patheon estimated the value of those units at $200,000.

One of Agere’s co-founders, Marshall Crew, now works for Patheon as vice president of global science and technology in the pharmaceutical development services division.

Agere, which specializes in improving a medication’s absorption rate and is located in northeast Bend, is one of five companies that Patheon has acquired since 2012 in the pharma development division. Patheon is working on development projects for 562 drugs in clinical development, according to the SEC filing, and calls itself the top global provider of formulation development services.

Patheon’s business is comparable to that of Capsugel, the pill-capsule maker that owns Bend Research. Agere is one of several local companies started by scientists who worked at Bend Research.

In December, the Bend City Council approved an extension of tax breaks for Patheon, and in exchange, the company agreed to invest $5.7 million in new equipment and plant improvements and create at least 22 jobs.

Revenue in Patheon’s pharma development division increased 9 percent, from $93.5 million to $101.9 million, during the six-month period that ended April 30, compared with the same period the prior year, according to Patheon’s SEC filing. The increase was a result of $3.7 million in growth from the Agere acquisition; expansion in Greenville, North Carolina, and revenue growth across most other sites in the division, Patheon said in the filing.

Companywide, Patheon is seeing losses. In an unaudited pro forma statement, the company said revenue for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2014, was nearly $2 billion with a net loss of $314.9 million.

The private-equity firm JLL Partners has a majority stake in Patheon, which in 2014 merged with European drug maker Royal DSM.

—Reporter: 541-617-7860, kmclaughlin@bendbulletin.com.