Advent to acquire significant minority stake in animal drug maker Felix Pharmaceuticals for $175 million
Private equity firm Advent International has signed a definitive agreement to invest $175 million (about ₹ 1,500 crore) for a significant minority stake in Felix Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd, an Ireland-headquartered company focused on developing and manufacturing generic medicines for companion animals such as dogs, cats, and horses.
This marks another bet by Advent in the growing healthcare space, this time tapping into the under-penetrated animal health generics segment, where branded drugs continue to dominate.
Founded in 2015, Felix Pharma is among the fastest-growing companies in the animal health space, with 14 USFDA-approved products and several more in the pipeline. The company primarily supplies to distributors and other branded generics players, especially in the US, through private labelling.
'Felix has an opportunity to shape the companion animal health generics market. The industry is nascent, with less than 10% share held by generic players, providing a long-term growth opportunity,' said Pankaj Patwari, managing director at Advent, in a statement.
'As we scale in a fast-evolving market, we were looking for a partner who brings not just capital, but also deep operating expertise and the right mindset and networks to help us grow faster and stronger,' said Neeraj Agrawal, co-founder of Felix.
'Advent's strong track record in healthcare and pharma, and their close involvement in building strong businesses, gives us great confidence,' he added.
Felix was co-founded by Neeraj Agrawal, a McKinsey alum, Sir Jonathan Symonds, chair of GSK, and Dr. Shumeet Banerji, former CEO of Booz Allen Hamilton. The company received its first USFDA approval in 2020, and now operates a dedicated R&D centre and a USFDA-approved manufacturing plant for animal health products.
The facility includes dedicated oral solids and liquids capabilities tailored specifically for the veterinary generics market.
'Healthcare has been a long-standing focus for us, and strong parallels we see between success in human Gx [generics] globally and emerging opportunity in animal health Gx,' said Shweta Jalan, managing partner at Advent.
'Felix is well positioned to lead this space with its strong leadership, broad portfolio, and robust R&D and commercial capabilities,' she said.
The deal comes amid a sharp rise in global demand for animal drugs, as pet ownership and spending on pet healthcare rise across geographies.
Advent has been actively investing in Indian healthcare and financial services. In April 2024, it acquired a 12.1% stake in Apollo Healthco, a unit of Apollo Hospitals, for ₹ 2,475 crore. Last year, it invested $230 million in Svatantra Microfin along with Multiples PE, and exited Bharat Serums and Vaccines, selling it to Mankind Pharma for ₹ 13,630 crore.
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