Piramal Pharma Ltd (PPL) has announced an investment of ₹101.77 crore in Hyderabad’s Yapan Bio, a move that will expand its footprint in biologics, besides bolstering its contract development and manufacturing business, Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS). PPL will hold 27.78 per cent equity in Yapan, as a result of this investment.

The investment allows PPS to broaden its offerings in the custom development and manufacturing space. Recently, Piramal Enterprises Chairman Ajay Piramal had told BusinessLine, they would look at an acquisition in biologics if customers in the custom manufacturing business asked for services or products.

Anti-body drug conjugation capabilities

Yapan Bio provides process development, scale-up, and cGMP (current good manufacturing practice regulation) compliant manufacturing of vaccines and biologics, including high containment products (requiring biosafety levels up to BSL-2+), recombinant vaccines, RNA/DNA vaccines, gene therapies, monoclonal antibodies, therapeutic proteins, and other complex biologics, PPL said. Yapan’s FY21 turnover was ₹12.4 crore and the company has earned revenues of ₹11.8 crore for the first six months or H1FY22, it added.

“Biologics capabilities can be synergistic with the company's anti-body drug conjugation capabilities; specifically, for customers who prefer the speed and simplicity benefits of an integrated program that involves development, manufacturing, conjugation, and fill finish. PPS currently offers integrated payload, conjugation, fill finish services, and the addition of anti-body capabilities enhances that offering,” PPL release said.

Nandini Piramal, Chairperson, Piramal Pharma said, Yapan’s expertise would help the Piramal company provide existing customers with wider capabilities for developing and manufacturing large molecules. Peter DeYoung, CEO, PIramal Pharma Solutions, added that biologics and their accompanying development services were the fastest growing segments in the CDMO market, in the last decade.

Piramal Enterprises shares closed on the BSE, up 3.87 per cent at ₹2 548, on Tuesday.

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