Eight Roads hires new India venture partner
Eight Roads, an independent investment firm backed by Fidelity International, has appointed pharmaceutical industry veteran Shirish Belapure as a venture partner in its India office.
The firm has been active in the country since 2007 and currently has 22 investment professionals on its team. Belapure (pictured, third from left) will support the healthcare investment vertical and existing portfolio.
He was previously a managing director at Zydus Hospira Oncology, a manufacturer of injectable drugs used to slow the spread of cancers. Belapure joined the firm in 2001. It was one of a number of senior roles he has held in India's healthcare sector during a 40-year career.
Eight Roads has two other venture partners - Harvinderjit Singh Bhatia and Deepak Kanvinde – that manage the firm’s healthcare portfolio.
So far, it has invested in 15 healthcare-related companies in the country. They include hospital operator Cygnus, at-home healthcare service provider Medwell Ventures, wholesale medical distributor Trivitron, dental practice software provider CareStack, online medicine retailer PharmEasy and Caplin Steriles, a medical producer of generic injectable drugs.
The most recent addition to the portfolio is Immuneel Therapeutics, an oncology cell therapy venture that received funding in January. F-Prime Capital, another GP sponsored by Fidelity, also took part.
“[Belapure’s] deep experience across the pharmaceutical supply chain will add immense value to our partner companies,” said Prem Pavoor, a partner at Eight Roads, in a statement.
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