Caplin Point Raises $30.6 Million to Accelerate Injectable Drug Development Through Subsidiary Caplin Steriles

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that Indian healthtech company Caplin Point announced that its subsidiary, Caplin Steriles, had completed a $30.6 million financing round. The round was jointly led by Eight Roads Ventures and F-Prime Capital, both venture capital firms under Fidelity International, with the aim of advancing further research and development of injectable pharmaceuticals.

Caplin Point was established in 1990, dedicated to the production of a range of ointments, creams, and other topical medications. In 1994, the company’s initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed by 117 times, with the proceeds used to set up a manufacturing facility in Pondicherry. Since then, Caplin Point has expanded its product portfolio and enhanced its production capacity.

Caplin Point specializes in emerging markets across Latin America, the Caribbean, France, and South Africa, and is currently one of the leading pharmaceutical suppliers in these regions, holding over 2,000 product licenses globally. The company’s advanced manufacturing facilities are capable of producing liquid injectables for vials, ampoules, lyophilized products, and ophthalmic preparations, enabling its entry into regulated injectable markets. Its facilities have been approved by the U.S. FDA, EU GMP, Brazil’s ANVISA, and Colombia’s INVIMA.

Caplin Point stated in a press release that this round of financing will help Caplin Steriles meet the growing demand for injectable pharmaceuticals in regulated markets, particularly in the United States and Europe.

The statement also noted that the $10 billion U.S. market for generic injectables presents a compelling opportunity, as high barriers to entry in product development and regulatory compliance characterize the manufacturing process of sterile products. This has led to diminished competitive capacity and constrained production capabilities. Prem Pavoor, a partner at Eight Roads Ventures, an Indian venture capital firm, stated, “More than 70% of the generic drugs in short supply in the United States are injectables.”

Paarthipan, Director of Caplin Point, stated: “We are expanding our production capacity to meet the growing demand for sterile products in these regulated markets and are committed to developing complex generic injectable products in-house. In the long term, both initiatives will deliver substantial value.”

According to the annual report of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Indian pharmaceutical industry had an estimated annual turnover of USD 33 billion in 2016–2017. Exports accounted for approximately half of this turnover. The industry is highly fragmented, comprising hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Eight Road, the venture capital arm of Fidelity International, has been closely monitoring India’s health-tech sector. It has previously invested in several healthcare startups in the country, including Cipla Health, Core Diagnostics, Laurus Labs, Medwell Ventures, Pharmeasy, and Trivitron Healthcare.

Eight Roads Ventures is a venture capital firm with offices in China, India, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Eight Roads is a wholly owned investment arm of Fidelity International Limited. The venture capital division of Fidelity International Limited was formerly known as Fidelity Growth Partners.

F-Prime Capital was founded in 1946 and has grown from a single investment fund into one of the world’s largest asset management firms, managing over $2 trillion in assets. Over the past four decades, this venture capital group has supported visionary entrepreneurs in building pioneering companies in the technology and life sciences sectors, including Atari, MCI, ROLM Corp., Alibaba, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, and Ultragenyx. Today, while F-Prime’s investment scale has expanded and its reach has become more global, its team remains small and locally focused. Currently, F-Prime Capital primarily invests in healthcare and technology.