L&T chairman emeritus A M Naik, investors Madhusudan Kela and Utpal Sheth along with other high net worth individuals have invested in medical devices firm S3V Vascular Technologies Ltd to help it set up a facility that will make neurovascular devices to treat strokes.
The Mysore-based company has raised 'a little less than ₹300 crore' in this funding round, sufficient to complete the new manufacturing plant, said founder and chief executive Badari Narayan. The proceeds will help the company focus on sales, marketing, manufacturing and for securing a US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approval for its plant to make medical devices.
The pre-revenue target company started in 2013 and was first incubated in the Indian School of Business. It has so far focussed on building its technology, but is now gearing towards scale and growing the business.
The primary focus of S3V is to build devices to combat strokes in India, the company said. S3V is preparing to launch new devices for mechanical thrombectomy - devices that can intravenously target and dissolve blood clots, Narayan added.
Current devices cost well over ₹5 lakh, while S3V promises to manufacture and sell devices that cost around ₹75,000, making it affordable to a wider population. Its top clients include Apollo Group of Hospitals.
S3V is now investing in next-generation devices in neurology, cardiology, and spine, Narayan said in a statement.
“Neuro is a core area for us. We are also going to launch very quickly the next-generation devices in the cardiac segment and then one of the core areas where we are working very silently is the drug-device combinations,” he said. The company is also planning to launch a product for spine-related ailments.
Narayan added that nearly 90% of medical devices in India are imported, which presents an opportunity for his company. The Indian medical devices market is likely to reach $50 billion by 2025, Narayan added.
After the latest fundraise, the Narayan family will own around 50% stake in the company. Previous investors in S3V include Jito Angels and Laurus Labs founder Satya Chava.
The company did not go in for private equity or venture capital funds, as it could potentially set up a sale of the company, which the founders want to avoid, he said. As a result, it opted to raise capital from HNIs.
“Today we are in a position to attract ace investors who could invest into this type of programme with the promise that they will make decent returns. This is a commercial product and not a subsidy,” Narayan said.
The investors have valued the company based on its technology fairly, Narayan said. “This is at par with what a European company making a similar technology would have received,” he said, though he declined to provide a number on the valuation.
The company is also receiving assistance from programmes launched by the Union ministry of science and technology.
