Avesta to raise euro 25 m

Avestha Gengraine Technologies (Avestagen), a Bangalore-based healthcare technology company, plans to raise euro 25 million to fund expansion and strategic acquisition.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, the company's CEO and founder Villoo Morawala-Patell said, "we are in talks with a few investment bankers in Europe and will be finalising the funds in the first quarter of 2006."

With regard to acquisitions, the company is yet to begin its exercise and is looking at both domestic and global companies. Expansion of some of its facilities has already begun with a Rs 45 crore capital expenditure plan.

"The facility expansion is to strengthen research and development facilities and build our own manufacturing unit in Bangalore," said Villoo Patell.

Avesthagen is ramping up its head count from existing 141 to 300 in six months.

The company has made two additions to its board of directors and scientific advisory committee by inducting Dr Barry J Furr, former chief scientific officer and head of research at AstraZeneca (UK) and Dr Simon Best, founder and chairman of Ardana Plc (UK).

Professor Barry Furr was chief scientist and head of project evaluation at AstraZeneca and a member of the senior R&D management team.

He has a track record both in endocrinology and discovering and bringing anti-cancer drugs to market. He has chaired committees for the MRC, BBSRC and Wellcome Trust and advises an international venture capital fund on scientific investments.

Dr Simon Best is the founder and chairman of Ardana Plc, UK. He is chairman-elect of the UK Bio-Industry Association, chairman of the Edinburgh University Technology Fund.

He is also an industry adviser to BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), spun out of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO) with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates and Rockefeller Foundations.

BVGH is developing new resource mobilisation models to harness the biotechnology industry?s R&D capabilities to develop new health solutions for the developing world.

Villoo Patell, highlighting the company's achievements in 2005, said Avesthagen established multiple joint ventures with global and Indian partners like AstraZeneca (genomics and metabolomics for infectious diseases), Novartis (molecular biology), Itochu (nutraceuticals), CCBR (diagnostics and nutraceuticals) and Cipla (biopharmaceuticals).