Deal focus: VCs to rebalance Indian shortcoming

The populations of China and India are roughly similar, but the former collects about 10 times more biopharmaceutical blood plasma than the latter. As economic growth brings lifestyle changes and new disease patterns, the imbalance is starting to attract investor attention. 

Early action to bring India up to speed in plasma protein therapeutics – the science of distilling specialized medical products from human blood – is being pursued by Fidelity International through its venture capital units Eight Roads Ventures and F-Prime Capital Partners. The two VCs, which regularly pair up on healthcare deals, are investing $25 million in the first external funding round for India’s PlasmaGen Biosciences.

“India and many emerging economies continue to see a large demand-supply mismatch with respect to plasma products because of the complex supply chain and stringent regulatory requirements,” explains Prem Pavoor, a partner at Eight Roads. “We are also seeing the country rapidly catching up to global benchmarks on the use of these products with rising awareness and affordability. In a short time, PlasmaGen has emerged as a leader in this segment through its emphasis on quality and reliability.”

PlasmaGen’s core leadership, including CEO and veteran plasma specialist Dr. Ranjeet Ajmani, set up the company in 2011. Ajmani attracted Fidelity’s attention while working for another company, but a potential funding round fizzled when he departed. Ajmani reengaged with the firm on joining PlasmaGen and this led to an investment. Fidelity was convinced in part by PlasmaGen’s scarcity value: Although several other local medical entities do plasma protein work, none are wholly dedicated to the field. 

“This kind of business needs focus because it’s very complex and human plasma is a very vulnerable fuel,” Ajmani says. “To do a good job, you have to give it undivided attention, so when we formed this company, it was very clear that we were going to work only in this segment and not dilute that focus.”

The plan is to increase market penetration with a focus on rural areas, where about 70% of Indians are estimated to live with limited access to modern health services. Across the next three years, this effort will look to encompass neighboring markets as well and is expected to result in the company roughly tripling in overall scope. 

Ajmani describes the size of the PlasmaGen business as being in a range of $11-12 million as of the end of the 2017 financial year. This figure is projected to grow to $30-35 million in about three years. During the same period, the number of staff will expand from around 75 to as many as 300.

“I think this funding will certainly give us momentum, and we will be able to establish a local company with a very global view,” says Ajmani. “We’ve done six years of groundwork taking the lead in this field, and now it’s time to really take off.” 

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Healthcare
• Technology
• Early-stage
• India
• Eight Roads
• Pharmaceuticals
• Venture