New Delhi, Sep 09, 2010 : The R&D in the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed no success in creating a new drug, despite its efforts for the past sixteen years. Since there are no such existing venture capital funds in India that invest in innovation of the pharmaceutical industry, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has decided to consider inviting proposals from private VCs for creation of funds, which shall invest in innovation of drug discovery and the pharmaceutical, bio-pharma industry.
Earlier at National Pharma Convention held in July at New Delhi, DoP proposed $646 million (`3,000) cr venture capital fund for giving the drug discovery a push and strengthening the pharma infrastructure in the country. Now, taking the step in that direction, DoP is considering investment of identified funds into a newly-created specialized private equity / venture capital fund called as India Pharmaceutical Innovation Fund (IPIF). The DoP would then participate as an investor in the most suitable venture capital fund proposal. National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) is assisting and advising the DoP in this whole process.
In order to set up the IPIF in the most effective manner it has been decided to recruit a consultancy business as an Adviser to assist in the development of the modalities of IPIF and the selection of appropriate venture funds to enable DoP deploy available funds for the purpose.
The Adviser will interact with Private/Public Equity, Venture Capital, and other investment bodies for comments and suggestions on the IPIF. The Adviser will also help in the selection of Venture Capital Fund Management and will decide on the best potential venture fund by which funds of the DoP can be most effectively deployed to foster innovation in the pharmaceutical industry for drug discovery and innovation. All required expertise for the creation/ setting up and operationalization of the IPIF will also be provided.
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