Source: Entrackr
Ahmedabad, Lamark Biotech, a startup situated in the biopharma space, announced that it has raised ₹6.5 crore in a pre-Series A funding round. This investment was led by the IAN Group, which included the IAN Alpha Fund and BioAngels. Other participants in the round included seasoned investors Vinayender Tulla, Nita Roy, and Venkataraman KNK, who have extensive backgrounds in healthcare and biotech.
This was not Lamark’s first round of capital. In a prior round, Lamark secured $41.3k in seed funding from VIT-TBI and then some. The funding will enable Lamark to move quicker with research and clinical trials, primarily for creating stable insulin under extreme heat exposure.
Solving Storage Issues around Medicines
Lamark Biotech was founded in 2018, by Dr. Vaibhav Bhatia. Lamark is dedicated to solving the challenges associated with storage and use of critical medicines, and, in particular when you don’t always have access to cold storage options. Protein-based medicines like insulin, monoclonal antibodies & enzymes require low temperatures in order to maintain efficacy and as temperature increases – they lose potency.
To address this issue, Lamark has built a technology platform called ProteoStrong. This platform is able to enable stability for these medicines, even if they must be exposed to high temperatures without changing their structure, which will facilitate access to life-saving therapeutics in remote or lower resource geographies.
Lamark is conducting its research at the Venture Center at NCL Innovation Park, Pune. The facility enables research with labs, equipment, and scientific support.
InsulinStrong Has Big Plans
The main product of Lamark is called InsulinStrong. This is a new type of insulin that does not have to be refrigerated with a shelf life of two years. The company plans to take advantage of India’s big insulin market worth about ₹4,000 crore. Lamark also wants to expand into other parts of Southeast Asia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Over the next 2 years, Lamark hopes to:
- Secure international patents
- Begin clinical trials for testing the product
- Engage pharmaceutical companies and global health groups as partners.
Investor Trust in Lamark’s Ambition
The investors from IAN Group believe Lamark’s work will change the game around how medicines are stored and delivered. They see great value in solutions that can in a significant way help people in communities that don’t have reliable electricity and sustainable cold-chain infrastructure.
In conclusion: Lamark Biotech’s latest funding will facilitate its strategic objectives of establishing essential medicines to be more stable, accessible and affordable to everyone.
