Pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals maker Vivimed Labs said investment firm OrbiMed will invest $42.5 mn (Rs 270 cr) into its active pharmaceutical ingredients business.
The investment will be into Vivimed Labs Mascarene Ltd, which is in turn the holding entity of the company’s API business, UQUlFA.
The proceeds of this fund raise will be utilised for debt reduction at the parent entity level as well as for expanding the API business, Vivimed said.
OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with over S14 billion in assets under management. It invests globally in large MNCs, utilizing a range of private equity funds, public equity funds, and royalty/credit funds.
UQUIFA contributes approximately 60% of Vivimed’s revenue and a higher proportion of its operating profits, the company said.
The business was acquired in 2011 and has seen “meaningful improvement in its profitability and product pipeline” since then, it said.
“The growth in the business has been driven by a ramp up in CDMO business, better product mix and higher market generics portfolio,” it said.
The operating profit levels at the unit have increased to 17-18% from high single digit levels at the time of acquisition, it said.
UQUIFA will pursue strategies aimed at delivering higher growth and further improvements in margin, it said.
“Vivimed welcomes the investment by orbiMed in our business as we prepare ourselves on the next lap of growth for our API franchise. UQUIFA today, is a significant part of our presence in the pharmaceuticals business and is poised to grow well ahead of the industry,” said Santosh Varalwar, Managing Director of Vivmed.
“Even as we have sales and profitability metrics from this part of the business in the recent past, we are confident that high value opportunities in our targeted segments of the market will drive the future.”