IFC to invest $60 mn in Biological E to develop vaccines, expand capacity

BioE sells its vaccines in India and other developing markets both, directly and through Unicef

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank, will be infusing $60 million into Hyderabad-based Biological E (BioE) to help the company introduce new products and expand its vaccine manufacturing capacity with a new plant.

IFC said it would be extending a loan to the company and would also subscribe to its non-convertible debentures, in order to part-finance the project.

IFC's invesment will support the company's plan to diversify its product range and increase access to good quality affordable vaccines in India and other developing countries. It will also help create direct and indirect jobs and increase manufacturing capacity in India, said the World Bank's investment arm.

The company has five manufacturing facilities in India and R&D facilities in India and France. The corporate loan will help the company scale up its product offerings and launch four new vaccines that are to be manufactured at company's existing vaccine unit in Shameerpet. The new vaccine manufacturing facility is being developed adjacent to the existing facility.

In February, the company had announced the laying of the foundation stone for the new plant, which is coming up in a special economic zone at an investment of around Rs 300 crore. The construction of the unit is expected to be completed by April 2018 and commercial production is expected to begin by December 2019, it had said at that time.

The new plant would be used to manufacture both, the company's existing vaccines and new products that are in the pipeline.

BioE is an unlisted and closely-held company, whose main promoter, Mahima Datla, holds the majority of the company's, with the balance held by members of her family.

BioE manufactures vaccines for the Indian market and for other developing and middle-income countries and sells them either directly or through supplies to United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (GAVI).

The company has pre-qualification from the World Health Organization (WHO) for the liquid pentavalent vaccine (LPV) and the Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine. In pharmaceuticals, BioE manufactures generic formulations for the Indian market.