Caplin Steriles Announces INR 218 Crore Investment

Caplin Point Laboratories Limited (Caplin Point), one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in India, today announced an investment in its injectables subsidiary, Caplin Steriles, by Eight Roads Ventures, the proprietary investment arm of FIL, Fidelity International Limited and its US-based sister fund, F-Prime Capital. The partnership will accelerate Caplin Steriles’ efforts to cater to the rapidly growing demand for injectable pharmaceutical products in the regulated markets, especially the US and Europe Eight Roads and F-Prime Capital together bring access to a powerful investment platform spanning Asia, Europe and the US.

Caplin Point was founded in 1990 by C.C. Paarthipan. Since then, it has grown to become a leading provider of affordable, high-quality pharmaceutical formulations in several emerging markets including Latin America and Africa, with over 2700 product registrations globally.

Caplin Steriles, its subsidiary, will cater to the rapidly growing demand for injectable products in the regulated markets, especially the US and Europe. The $10bn US generic injectables segment continues to be very attractive, driven by high barriers to entry on product development as well as regulatory compliance in manufacturing such sterile products. This has resulted in relatively lower competition and constrained online capacity in this segment. Caplin Steriles has established a 550-person business with state-of-the-art R&D facilities in Chennai and high-quality manufacturing infrastructure that is approved both by the US FDA and European regulatory authorities. The subsidiary has already filed 8 ANDAs on its own and through partners with the US FDA, with 2 approvals.

Commenting on the transaction, C.C. Paarthipan, Chairman, Caplin Point Laboratories Limited, said: “We are at a stage in our regulated markets journey where we believe that the business is now well positioned to evolve and thrive as a separate entity. We are expanding capacities to cater to growing demand from these regulated markets for sterile products, and working on development of complex generic injectable products in-house. Both these efforts will unlock great value in the long run. We are excited to extend our journey from a road less travelled (South America) to a road well-travelled (North America) with Eight Roads Ventures and F-Prime Capital as investment and knowledge partners, given their excellent track record worldwide and particularly in healthcare.”

Dr. Prem Pavoor, Partner at Eight Roads Ventures India, added: “This is a unique opportunity for us to partner with Caplin Point to build a world-class platform in India to develop and manufacture injectable drugs. Over 70% of generic drug shortages in the US continue to be attributable to injectables. Through our combined experience and resources, we aspire to create a leader in this segment, providing affordable, differentiated products for patients.”