US, India pharma company Bugswork raises $7.5m

Other existing investors Acquipharma Holdings, a South African healthcare investment firm, and 3one4 Capital, an Indian early-stage investor, also took part. It brings the total capital committed to the start-up to $19 million.

Founded in 2014, Bugworks is headquartered in the US and has R&D facilities in India. It was established to focus on microorganisms that have achieved antimicrobial resistance.

Commonly known as superbugs, medical outbreaks caused by such bacteria have increased in frequency. COVID-19 is expected to make it easier for such superbugs to spread.

"As witnessed with COVID-19, infectious diseases are threatening human existence. We consider India to be an important region, both from innovation and market perspective and are hence accelerating our investment activity in India," said Yasuhiko Yurimoto, a general partner at Global Brain, according to a statement.

The investment will allow Bugworks to complete preliminary studies for an intravenous drug candidate that it describes as a novel broad-spectrum agent targeting critical bacterial infections implicated in serious hospital, community and biothreat indications.

In India, UTEC has recently invested in Tricog, a diagnostic device manufacturer that helps analyze electrocardiogram (ECG) reports. The university-linked VC's strategy involves introducing Indian medical researchers to their Japanese counterparts and develop solutions that can be effective in both Japanese and Indian markets.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• South Asia
• Healthcare
• India
• Global Brain Corporation
• 3one4 Capital
• University of Tokyo Edge Capital