Avendus Future Leaders Fund III Invests INR 300 Cr in Aragen Life Sciences The transaction involves the purchase of a minority stake and represents the fund's second investment from its third vintage, following its backing of La Renon Healthcare earlier this year.

Avendus Future Leaders Fund III, part of the Avendus Group, has led an INR 300 crore investment in Aragen Life Sciences, with participation from SBI Life Insurance.

The transaction involves the purchase of a minority stake and represents the fund's second investment from its third vintage, following its backing of La Renon Healthcare earlier this year. The exact size of the stake acquired in Aragen has not been disclosed.

Aragen Life Sciences, formerly known as GVK Biosciences, was founded in 2001 by G V Sanjay Reddy. Headquartered in Hyderabad, the company is a global research and development and manufacturing solutions provider to the life sciences industry. It offers services across the drug development cycle, from early-stage discovery to commercial manufacturing, for both small molecules and biologics. Under the leadership of chief executive Manni Kantipudi, Aragen has invested extensively in advanced technology platforms, as well as digital and artificial intelligence capabilities, to serve the needs of global drug innovators.

Ritesh Chandra, Managing Partner of Avendus Future Leaders Fund, said, "Our investment in Aragen reflects our strong conviction in the CRDMO market in India. As global pharmaceutical companies increasingly turn to India for drug research, Aragen is well-positioned to capture these tailwinds."

Kantipudi described Aragen as a trusted partner in the contract research, development, and manufacturing space. "We are excited to welcome Avendus and SBI Life Insurance as long-term shareholders," he said.

The company's existing investors include Goldman Sachs and Quadria Capital. It stated that the fresh capital would help broaden its shareholder base and reinforce its role as a partner to pharmaceutical innovators around the world.

Avendus Future Leaders Fund manages over INR 3,750 crore across its funds and focuses on investing in late-stage market leaders across sectors. Its portfolio includes Lenskart, Sagility, SBI General Insurance, Licious, Juspay, Zeta, Indegene, Veritas Finance, FirstCry, and Avanse Financial Services. The fund recently exited its investment in Juspay Technologies and earlier this year invested INR 160 crore in La Renon Healthcare.

Chandra noted that the pharmaceutical sector is witnessing growth rates of 16 to 17 percent and forecast that India could approach China's 14 percent share of the global market within three to four years, up from the current 8 percent. He added that India's growing manufacturing capacity and abundant talent make it an attractive destination for global companies seeking to diversify supply chains.

While the fund remains cautious on urban consumer markets, Chandra said rural consumption may offer greater resilience in the current economic environment.