Mumbai-based veterinary pharmaceutical startup Ashish Life Science has raised ₹45 crores from Eight Roads Ventures, the venture capital arm of Fidelity International. This is the second investment by the venture capital firm in India’s pharmaceutical sector in the last two weeks.
Prem Pavoor, partner of Eight Roads Ventures, who led the investment in the pharma firm, will join the board of Ashish Life Science following the investment. Two weeks earlier, the venture firm along with its US-based sister fund F-Prime Capital led ₹218 crores investment in Caplin Steriles.
Netherland-based food and agriculture-focused fund Anterra Capital also participated in the funding round. Ashish Life Science, founded in 2002, has been bootstrapped till date and this investment is the very first external funding for the startup.
“With Ashish Life Science, we continue to participate in the broader pharmaceutical sector, and in the core capabilities that India has established, which are applicable equally to human and animal health – generic product development, high-quality manufacturing and regulatory expertise. The last of these is becoming increasingly important as inspection authorities globally become more stringent”,” Pavoor told ET over the phone.
Founded by Raujesh Agarrwal, the startup will expand to regulated markets and scape its business using the funds. It has a 100-plus product portfolio and sells its products in over 50 countries. With the freshly raised capital in hands, the startup plans to penetrate the Europian, Australian and South African markets. Furthermore, it plans to tap into the veterinary generics segment in the regulated markets.
