Piramal exec to head True North's new pharma platform

By Ranjani Raghavan

  • 01 Nov 2018
Credit: Thinkstock

Kedar Rajadyne has resigned as the chief operating officer and president of Piramal Enterprises Ltd's consumer products business to join private equity firm True North, a person familiar with the development said on Thursday.

Rajadyne will head True North’s pharmaceuticals-focussed platform Integrace Pvt. Ltd, which was set up in August after the PE firm agreed to buy Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd’s orthopaedic and pain management business. The deal had valued the business at Rs 635 crore ($90 million then).

Rajadyne's last day at Piramal is Friday and he is likely to join the PE firm later this month, the person said, asking not to be named.

When contacted by VCCircle, Rajadyne declined to comment. However, True North partner Satish Chander confirmed the development. 

Chander said in a statement the new platform has started with marketing orthopaedic and pain management products and that it aims to become a specialty-focussed pharmaceutical company by adding more pharmaceutical and over-the-counter products.

The  business acquired by True North includes brands such as Esoz, Bon K2, Collasmart and Lizolid. It had revenue of Rs 115.8 crore for 2017-18, True North had said in August. 

Apart from Rajadyne, a senior Glenmark executive is also joining the new platform. Sujesh Vasudevan, president of India formulations, Middle East and Africa at Glenmark, will join the board of Integrace, True North had said in August.

The PE firm has been aggressively deploying from its sixth fund, for which it has so far raised $600 million. Last month, it acquired a majority stake in Sesa Hair Oil. The PE firm is also reportedly in the race to acquire Glenmark’s bulk-drugs business.