- Evolvence India Life Sciences Fund (the Fund) is a private equity fund being established to make equity and equity related investments in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies based in India. The fund will be a Mauritius limited life company. The Fund is seeking to raise USD 150 million with an initial closing of USD 50 million.
Investment focus & strategy:
The Fund intends to invest in small to mid-sized (USD 50-250 million in revenue) pharmaceutical, healthcare, biotechnology, contract research & manufacturing businesses which are either located in India or which derive significant competitive advantage from operations located in India. Over time, the Fund will also attempt to build a portfolio of businesses in the life sciences sector with special capabilities (e.g., lowest cost process for active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacture, new drug delivery systems, advanced drug discovery platform, contract research and/or manufacturing) which though diverse have the capability to add value to the portfolio by leveraging each others special capabilities.
Examples of investments required include growth capital, risk-sharing in R&D of products facing patent expiry, acquisitions of USD 5-15 million businesses overseas, and up-grading of existing infrastructure to emerge as partner of choice for contract activities. Typical investment size will be USD 5-15 million for significant minority stakes. The Funds investments will generally have an outlook of five to seven years. The Funds investment strategy will be anchored by the concept of active ownership
Team:
The ability to recognize and capture untapped value in life sciences businesses require deep knowledge of global pharma sector, strong operational skills, and ability to partner with management teams of the portfolio companies in strategy development and successful implementation. The Manager seeks to maximize value of investments in portfolio companies by assembling a team of individuals with deep domain expertise in life sciences, deal structuring and corporate finance, and a privileged network of contacts in India and other major international markets.
Hari Buggana (Managing Director)
Hari has been a consultant for past 6 years with Mckinsey & Company, one of the premier management consultancies in the world. During his stint at McKinsey, Hari has primarily worked with life sciences businesses in the US, Europe and India on a variety of issues ranging from corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions, product-market strategy, R&D productivity, organizational effectiveness, and operations improvement. Prior to joining McKinsey, Hari worked as a scientist for 5 years in the Pharmaceutical Products Division of Abbott Laboratories, USA. He has a MBA from the prestigious Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, USA, and a M.S. in Chemical Engineering (biotech specializations) from Illinois Institute of Technology, USA.
Anula Jayasuriya (Managing Director)
Anula brings to the team a unique combination of deal making expertise and scientific and medical knowledge. As a life science venture capitalist, she was a partner with Skyline Ventures in Palo Alto, and prior to that with the German US venture capital firm TVM, in San Francisco. In addition to her investment experience, she has a deep knowledge of business building gained while working as Vice President Corporate Development at Genomics Collaborative Inc., Vice President Global Drug Development at Hoffman-La Roche. Anula received an MD and PhD (in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics) from Harvard Medical School. She interned in Pediatrics at Boston Childrens Hospital. She also received an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. Anulas extensive network in the US life sciences and venture capital industries will help create significant value for the portfolio companies and differentiate the Fund from its competitors in India.
World Class Board/Investment Committee/Advisory Board
The Fund has attracted world-class business leaders to serve on its Board, Investment Committee, and Advisory Board. These individuals with whom the GPs of the fund interact on a regular basis are a unique proprietary source for deal flow, market insights and business development help to portfolio vaskarcompanies. Among these individuals are D.M. Ga (Member of the Investment Committee), former Managing Director of Abbott India Ltd; Prof. Ranjay Gulati (Fund Board), Professor of Strategy & Organisation at Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University; Mr. T.M. K. Reddy (Fund Board), Chairman of State Bank of Mauritius; Dhananjay Muyngale (Deal Structuring Advisor), former member of the apex Executive Committee, DSP-Merrill Lynch India and currently an advisor to many corporations and start-ups in India and Europe. In addition, Evolvence India Life Sciences Fund has the institutional support of its sponsor Evolvence Capital an emerging leader in PE investing in India.