Healthcare Markets & Deals Roundup — Edition 3
Dec 2023 — Feb 2024 Key Highlights
The last 3 months have seen an uptick in overall deal activity with 25+ notable deals closing in the overall healthcare sector in India and many key transactions set to close in the next quarter.
Startup funding has seen growth with funding flowing into sub-sectors ranging from Molecular diagnostics to AI applications.
Pharmaceuticals
The last 3 months have seen significant uptick in activity within the pharmaceutical sector in India. With notable transactions seeing closure and other Key Deals that will see closure in the months to come, 2024 is set to be a year driven by consolidation and market expansion.
Deal value from Dec’23 — Feb’24 > $600 Mn across API and FormulationsThere has been significant infusion of primary capital in innovative therapies that will cater to growing and unmet patient needs in the Indian markets
Public Markets — A Snapshot
Listed Company Financials — PharmaceuticalsListed Market Multiples
Private Markets — A Primer
Key Transactions
Deal Round Up
Eris Lifesciences acquired a majority stake (51%) in Swiss Parenterals. This acquisition enhances reach in emerging markets and bolsters presence in the domestic business through an injectables focused branded generics business. This marks the 2nd transaction by Eris in the last 4 months.Jubilant Pharmova divests its entire stake (25.8%) in Sofie Biosciences to Trilantic Capital Partners for a consideration of $139.4Mn of which ~$113Mn would be in cash and the remaining proceeds are contingent on meeting milestones. This sale enables Jubilant Pharmova to reduce leverage and invest in CAPEX.Sun Pharma acquired an additional 22% of Taro to now own 100% of the company. On completion of the merger, Taro would be delisted from the NYSE.Natco Pharma has invested $2Mn in Cellogen Therapeutics which is working on developing innovative and cost-effective cell and gene therapies including CAR-T therapies which are at the bleeding edge of innovation for treatment of cancers and many other conditions.Healthcare focused PE fund, InvAscent has invested 110 Cr in Hyderabad based Fleming laboratories which plans to utilize the funds to setup its 3rd manufacturing facility and venture into fermentation-based API manufacturing which will help make its APIs more cost effective.AI drug discovery startup Peptris raised $1Mn from Deep Tech VC fund Speciale Invest in its pre seed round. Peptris has developed a novel AI/ML based computational platform to accelerate drug discovery and will use the funds to focus on developing new treatments in areas of rare diseases, inflammation and oncology.Bengaluru based Plasmagen Biosciences has raised 225 Cr in equity funding led by Artian investments, UK in a round that also saw participation from existing investors — Eight Roads Ventures and F-Prime Capital. The capital will help with international expansion, new product development and meet working capital requirements.
Hospitals
Deal value exceeds $200Mn with some key transactions set to materialize in the next 3–4 monthsMulti-Specialty hospitals continue to be highly acquisitive and acquire scaled, well managed assets to expand geographically
Public Markets — A Snapshot
Listed Company Financials — HospitalsListed Market Multiples
Private Markets — A Primer
Deal Round Up
Yatharth Hospitals acquired multi-specialty Asian Fidelis hospital with 175 beds for a total consideration of 116 Cr in an all-cash deal. This acquisition will help improve Yatharth’s regional presence in Delhi-NCR and will add revenue from day-1 as Asian Fidelis is ready to be operationalized with all requisite approvals in placeMax Healthcare acquired Nagpur based Alexis Hospital for a total value of 412 Crores. This is a 200-bedded multi-specialty hospital located on a land parcel of 2 acres with expandable capacity up to 340 beds. This acquisition strengthens Max’s presence in western India and makes in the 4th JCI accredited facility in Max’s Hospital networkNovo Holdings, which holds controlling stake in Danish Pharma giant Novo Nordisk has invested in India’s leading hospital chain, Manipal Hospitals. The thesis is that India’s rising middle class drive rapidly growing demand for healthcare services and advanced medical facilitiesUjala Cygnus has raised ~18Mn in debt from Asian Development Bank. It plans to utilize this capital to expand into Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in India by opening 6 new hospitals and increase its total bed capacity from current levels of 1,650 to 2,560 by 2026 which would play a crucial role in supporting the AB-PMJAY initiativeKyra ventures invested $5Mn in Chennai based multi-specialty hospital chain — Medway Hospitals. This capital infusion will help meet Medway’s expansion plans by establishing centers of excellence in Tier-2 cities and reaching a total bed count of 1000 by 2026Max Healthcare acquired Lucknow based Sahara hospital for a total consideration of $132 Mn in a move to expand its geographical presence
Other Healthcare
The health tech sector saw high deal activity with many startups successfully raising VC CapitalMedical Devices and Diagnostics are the key sub-sectors that have seen deal activity
Deal Round Up
Arcatron Mobility, a consumer medical startup, focused on assisted mobility, has raised an undisclosed amount in growth capital from Orbimed, a healthcare focused fund. The capital will be used to ramp up R&D activity and enhance branding and marketing of the products.Somerset Indus PE invested an undisclosed amount in Printmann Offset for a minority stake in its 14th investment. Mumbai based Printmann Offset is a leading packaging solutions provider with key clients in the Pharma sector and it plans to utilize the capital to fuel growth through both organic and inorganic expansion.Health tech startup NeoDocs has raised ~16 Crores in a seed funding round led by Omidyar Network India. Neodocs manufactures smartphone-based test kits which eliminate dependencies on lab machines. It plans to use the capital to expand offerings into international markets.Piscium, a nanotech medical startup, has raised 6 Cr in its Series A round led by Unicorn India Ventures. It is creating a dentistry platform, a pipeline of various products and plans to use the capital for scaling up production, sales and marketing, and international market expansion.In a strategic acquisition, Thyrocare acquired 100% stake in Chennai based company Think Health Diagnostics. This move will enable Thyrocare to enter into the pre-policy medical check-up segment of the insurance market and can offer advanced services like ECG at home.Health Tech startup Aarogya Tech has raised $1.8Mn in its seed round from Hasu P Shah. The capital will be used to accelerate product development, bolster ML and analytics capabilities by scaling team size.Deeptech startup Algorithmic Biologics has raised $2.5Mn in its pre-series A round led by Bharat Innovation Fund (BIF). AlgoBio uses AI and advanced algorithms to increase the efficiency of molecular testing efficiency through its patented platform Tapestry. The capital infusion will help build its sales team, accelerate product development and expand internationally.CARPL.AI, world’s largest radiology AI marketplace raises $6Mn in its seed round led by Stellaris Venture Partners and also saw participation from Novo Holdings, Leapfrog PE, Bain & Co, BCG, UHG among others. CARPL enables clinical providers to Discover, Explore and Validate AI applications and subsequently deploy them into their clinical workflows.Bajaj Finserv Health acquires 100% stake in Vidal Healthcare Services. Vidal’s deep domain knowledge of healthcare administration in India will be synergistic to Bajaj Finserv Health’s data management and superior digital capabilities and will significantly bolster capabilities in the healthcare space enabling it to now serve customers in the hospital category.Chennai based Curebay, a health tech platform that enables last mile distribution of healthcare services, has raised $7.5Mn from existing investor Elevar Equity. The company will use the capital to expand its clinics from 90 to 200 across 3 states — Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.Healthcare focused PE fund InvAscent has invested $10Mn in ABI Health Technologies, a health tech SaaS player. ClaimBook, the company’s flagship product helps hospitals automate their entire insurance claim management process thus improving revenue cycles and arresting leakage. The capital will be used to expand into newer geographies and also to build additional services.Healthtech startup Monitra Health raised $1.5Mn in its pre-series A round led by Equanimity Ventures and Kotak Alternate Asset Managers. Monitra has developed a full stack remote cardiac monitoring platform built for scale and will use the funds to ramp up growth of the upBeat, the platform in both domestic and international markets.Cipla has invested a further 42 Cr in digital tech company GoApptiv, hiking its stake to ~23%. GoApptiv is a digital tech company offering solutions that will help Pharma companies improve their patient reach by offering end-end business solutions. This investment will help Cipla improve penetration in underserved rural areas and address healthcare gaps better.
