Bangalore, India
April 13, 2007
• First Indian blue-chip biotech
company to achieve milestone in record time of 6 yrs
• Catapults Indian biotech sector to a global platform
• Announces closure of Euro 25mn fund-raising
• 4 strategic business units headed by industry veterans to
drive accelerated growth
• Unveils new corporate identity and logo
• IPO in mid-2008
Avestha Gengraine
Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (“Avesthagen”), India's leading fully
integrated life-sciences company, announces the successful
closure of its Series ‘C’ fundraise totaling Euro 25 mn in
equity investments, valuing the company at Euro 115 mn (approx.
Rs. 667 crores).
The funds will be used for Avesthagen’s infrastructure expansion
plans, including setting up state-of-the-art manufacturing
units, R&D laboratories, acquisition of technology companies in
the domestic and overseas markets and furthering its
international presence.
The investors in the series C round include Fidelity
International, Limagrain group (France); Daninvest of Danone
group (France) and Bennett Coleman (India). With this, total
foreign investment in Avesthagen is now over 31%. The new
investors further strengthen the already robust existing
investor base that includes ICICI Venture, Cipla, Godrej
Industries, Tata Industries and bioMérieux.
Ms. Renuka Ramnath, CEO & MD of ICICI Venture, commenting on the
deal said: “ICICI Venture has always believed in the capability
and potential of the Avesthagen business model. We have
partnered the company from the inception till date and are happy
to see that under Villoo’s leadership, it is all set to become a
global player of repute.”
Avesthagen has in the past established a number of
collaborations including joint ventures and equity-led deals
with world leaders in their respective industries. These
alliances will help the company access global markets. Existing
partnerships are multiplying and enlarging the IP-led
collaborations.
The year 2006 was of special significance to Avesthagen as two
leading global companies made strategic investments in R&D
collaborations with two business units of Avesthagen. These are
Groupe Limagrain, a French global seed major, for R&D and
product development in agri-biotechnology and the European food
major Groupe Danone for R&D and product development in
bio-nutritionals.
Revenues have increased by more than 60% in 2006 and all product
pipelines are on target. The company expects to be profitable
for the third consecutive year and is witnessing fast growth
compared to the usual gestation period in the biotechnology
industry.
According to Dr. Villoo Morawala Patell, Vice-Chairperson and
Managing Director, Avestha Gengraine Technologies, Pvt. Ltd.,
“The markets addressed by Avesthagen are all global in their
nature and alliances in R&D and marketing will continue to be an
essential part of its strategy. With long-term commitment
towards its clients and strategic investors combined with a
unique business model, Avesthagen expects solid growth in the
coming years. The years 2006-08 are poised for an accelerated
growth with the launch of new solutions and products in all
business units of Avesthagen.”
Going forward, Avesthagen’ activities are being re-organized
into four strategic business units including
bio-pharmaceuticals, bio-nutritionals agri-biotech, science &
innovation. Each of these units will be run as independent
profit centers with dedicated management teams. Avesthagen’s
immediate focus will be intensifying its IP through product
commercialisation.
Avesthagen has started preparations for its IPO which is
scheduled to take place by mid 2008, around which time the
commercial launch of the first products is expected for the
bio-nutritional and bio-pharmaceutical product pipelines. The
headcount of the Company is anticipated to increase to over 600
within the next 18 months.
Standing at the dawn of a new cycle of expansion and science &
technology driven growth, Avesthagen is also pleased to present
its new corporate identity and logo. The new identity for the
Avesthagen group embodies the organization’s commitment to
evolve new solutions and creative ideas.
Avestha Gengraine Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Avesthagen) was
founded in 1998 by one of India’s pioneers and leading biotech
entrepreneurs Dr. Villoo Morawala-Patell, who got her PhD from
Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France, in 1993. It
began business operations officially in 2001.
Since its inception Avesthagen has grown into one of India's
leading healthcare technology group in India, pursuing its
vision of convergence of food, pharma and population genetics
leading to preventive personalised medicine. Its activities
include, in addition to its agri-biotechnologies product
pipeline, development of scientifically validated bioactive
nutraceuticals, derived from Indian medicinal plants, as well as
the development of a pipeline of bio-similar drugs. Avesthagen
has four strategic business units: Biopharmaceuticals, Food for
Medicine (Bio-nutritionals), Seed for Food (agribiotech) and
Science Innovation. Avesthagen's partners include multiple top
10 global companies in each of its fields of research.
For the bio-pharmaceuticals business unit, pilot scale
manufacturing facilities are being constructed in joint venture
format (“Avesta Biotherapeutics & Research Pvt. Ltd.) with its
partner, Cipla. Pre-clinical trials for the first products will
be initiated shortly. Commercialization of the products, once
approved, will be done through Cipla’s extensive sales
organization.
In the bio-nutritionals business unit, (pilot-scale)
manufacturing facilities are being constructed. Expansion of
manufacturing capacity is also anticipated to take place through
acquisition of one or more extraction plants. The first series
of pre-clinical trials for Avesthagen’s bio-nutritional products
has been completed successfully. Commercialization of the
products, once approved, will be done in close cooperation with
Avesthagen’s partners. In addition, Avesthagen has developed its
retail formula in the form of Avesta Good Earth Foods Pvt. Ltd.,
a wholly owned subsidiary, that will use the clinically
validated botanical bio-actives, as developed by the business
unit, as ingredients in its health and functional food product
range.
As part of its agri-biotech business unit “Seed for Food”,
Avesthagen, with its strategic partner Limagrain, is setting up
a technology driven Indian seed business, through acquisition of
Indian seed companies, following which technologies and
germplasm from both parties will be used for new product
development. Two joint venture companies have been registered
between Avesthagen and Limagrain, Atash Seeds Pvt. Ltd. and Ava
Seeds Pvt. Ltd. Atash Seeds will be the special purpose vehicle
to jointly develop field crops seed activity, while Ava Seeds
will be the SPV to jointly develop vegetable seed business.
Avesthagen collaborates at every stage in the value chain with
appropriate partners, both public and private, for access to and
exchange of technology and overall commercial expertise to
leverage the ‘India advantage’. Avesthagen at present employs
250 people worldwide. For Avesthagen on the web:
www.avesthagen.com
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