Bengaluru, India-based Anthem Biosciences has filed for a $397 million initial public offering amid a red-hot Indian IPO market, according to reporting by Reuters.
The Indian contract manufacturer, whose services include manufacturing novel commercial drug actives, will not sell any shares in the IPO. For that fundraising activity, Anthem will defer to private equity firm True North and drugmaker DavosPharma.
In 2021, True North acquired an 8% stake in Anthem for $85 million, according to The Economic Times.
With two manufacturing sites in Bengaluru, Anthem is “going public at a time when global drugmakers are turning to India and other markets to limit their reliance on Chinese contractors,” Reuters said.
Indian contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) stand to benefit from the BIOSECURE Act, which seeks to prevent U.S. federal funds from supporting certain Chinese contract manufacturers such as WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics.
While the passage of the BIOSECURE Act has stalled in Congress, the “ripple effect” of the proposed legislation “is already being felt by Chinese CDMOs” with contract manufacturers in the U.S., EU, and India seeing some “programs shifting to these geographies,” according to CPHI’s 2024 annual report.
Indian CDMO Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals announced last week it signed a $200 million agreement with an undisclosed “leading global pharma company” to manufacture select oral liquid formulations for the European market. As part of the deal, Akums will receive an upfront payment of $100 million for product development and site approval from European authorities.
India could potentially account for 8% to 10% of work share outsourced to CDMOs globally by 2033, according to a recent report from consulting firm McKinsey & Company.