India-headquartered contract research, development, and manufacturing organisation Aragen (formerly GVK Biosciences) has secured $100 million in funding from healthcare-focused private equity firm Quadria Capital, the company announced on Monday.
The PE firm has picked up a minority stake in Aragen through the transaction, valuing the company at around $1.4 billion, mainly through fresh capital infusion and a small portion from the sale of shares by existing investors.
With the investment, Quadria joins Goldman Sachs as the second strategic investor in Aragen, which plans to dilute around 10% of its stake ahead of an IPO, as per media reports in September last year.
The IPO-bound company plans to use the fresh funds to support its expansion amid a growing demand for outsourcing services from the US and Europe.
“This investment marks a pivotal moment as we scale to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving market,” said Manni Kantipudi, CEO, Aragen Life Sciences. “Our extended capabilities will allow us to support the rising demand for integrated and manufacturing services and help our customers accelerate their programmes to market faster and more efficiently,” he added.
The announcement comes ahead of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2025, which will connect global leaders, companies, and investors. Aragen is eyeing more outsourcing partnerships from the event.
Earlier in January last year, the Goldman Sachs-backed company announced its expansion plans for drug discovery and manufacturing with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in its existing facility in Mallapur, Telangana.
Established in 2001 by GV Sanjay Reddy, Aragen has served large pharma, biotech, agrochemical, and animal health industries globally, offering a wide range of solutions from drug discovery to development and commercial manufacturing to advance small and large-molecule programmes.
Known as GVK BIO earlier, the company rebranded to Aragen Life Sciences in 2021 to mark its 20-year milestone and its transformation into a R&D and manufacturing partner to the global life sciences industry.
It has a team of around 4,500 employees operating across eight sites around the globe. The company claims to have a global clientele of more than 400 clients, including seven out of the 10 largest pharma companies in the world and more than 100 biotech firms.
