Stelis Biopharma Pvt. Ltd is raising $100 million (Rs 710 crore) in a Series B round from existing shareholders, including drugmaker Strides Pharma Science Ltd and Jordan-based investment firm GMS Holdings.
Strides Pharma is investing $15 million in the biopharmaceutical company, the drugmaker said in a stock market disclosure on Thursday.
The commitment from Strides will help Stelis achieve the first close of the Series B round at $35 million. The remaining amount will come from other shareholders—GMS and Tenshi Life Sciences Pvt Ltd, a company set up by Strides’ promoters. Strides didn’t specify their individual contribution.
After the first close of the Series B round, Stelis would have raised an equity capital of $114 million with $37 million coming from Strides alone. Its stake in Stelis will rise to 38% from 36.25%.
GMS was to initially invest $8.5 million for a 25.1% stake in Stelis. The deal envisaged an additional equity infusion of $40 million by Strides and $13.40 million by GMS in tranches based on project and product development needs over a period of two years, in proportion to their ownership at par.
Stelis
Bengaluru-based Stelis is a vertically integrated biopharmaceutical company with R&D, process scale-up and end-to-end manufacturing capabilities.
Two of the company's lead products are SBL001 and SBL005. The products are for osteoporosis and osteoarthritis therapeutic purposes, respectively. Stelis is in advanced stages of seeking approvals for these products in the regulated markets.
The company has also completed its biopharma manufacturing facility at Bengaluru. Besides, it has a pipeline of five products in the early stage of development.
Investors
Strides is a pharmaceutical company with a major focus on development and manufacture of patent-led niche finished dosage formulations.
The Bengaluru-headquartered company has seven factories spread across three continents, including five facilities for regulated markets and two facilities for the emerging markets.
GMS, which was founded by Ghiath Sukhtian, is privately owned by a Jordan-based group. It has a diversified set of businesses spanning various sectors including pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, information and communications technologies, agrochemicals and real estate. The company has presence in West Asia, North Africa, the US, Europe and Southeast Asia.