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PLSL is the second Indian drug research firm to be listed on the exchanges, after Sun Pharma's drug discovery arm Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC).
“Pure drug discovery companies are a new development in India and it will take some time for our investors to realise the worth of such companies,” Ajay Piramal, chairman of Nicholas Piramal told Business Standard. He said the company was planning to dilute about 15-20 per cent of the equity to further infuse capital into PLSL. The company is also exploring various options such as private equity investment in the company, which may happen within the next 12 months, said Piramal. PLSL's strategy would be to take the drugs under development till the final commercialisation stage, than outlicensing the drugs to external parties, he added. Nicholas Piramal has 18 per cent stake in the new company and the rest 82 per cent is held by NPIL shareholders. Nicholas Piramal also transfered Rs 95 crore of assets to the new company. PLSL is focused on four therapeutic areas – cancer, diabetes, inflammation and infectious diseases. The Company has a pipeline of fourteen compounds, including four in clinical trials. |
Source: Business Standard