Avesthagen Acquires Dietary Supplement Company

BANGALORE, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Avestha Gengraine Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Avesthagen), a leading biotechnology company based in Bangalore, India, today announced its acquisition of 100% of the US dietary supplement company, Renaissance Herbs, Inc. (RHI). The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of July. RHI is a fully-integrated supplier of proprietary nutritional products that are marketed on a global basis through multiple sales channels. The company sources its raw materials in India and South East Asia for processing in its facilities outside of Bangalore. The main offices for RHI are in Southern California. RHI will be merged into, Avesthagen, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

The acquisition supports the fulfillment of Avesthagen’s bio-nutritional business strategy through vertical integration and access to key markets. The company is a leader in the use of advanced biotechnologies for the discovery and development of natural plant extracts that provide health benefits supported by scientific studies and clinical trials. These products are incorporated into “functional” foods or marketed as dietary supplements for direct use by the consumer. Dr Villoo Morawala Patell, Founder and Managing Director of Avesthagen, commented, “We believe that this acquisition is highly synergistic for both companies. The world class processing facilities will accelerate the launch of our botanical extracts and the RHI distribution infrastructure allows us to rapidly launch products into the dietary supplement market. And on the RHI side, Avesthagen’s in-house technical capabilities can hasten the development of a proprietary RHI product line with improved health claims.”

Alex Moffett, the founder and CEO of RHI, will remain as the global director of the business, reporting to Dr. Patell. Mr. Moffett said, “Our company has always strived to provide the highest quality of products and our strategy has been to develop a fully proprietary product line supported by rigorous science and demonstrated benefits. This requires access to significant scientific competencies and this was challenging for a small, market-focused company. I am very pleased that we can now move to this next level and that our strategies are so well aligned. This was an important factor in my decision to sell the company.”

Bio-nutrition is a major business for Avesthagen and the company reports that it plans to continue investing in the growth of the business.

RHI brings to Avesthagen full vertical integration and access to two of the most attractive markets in the world, the US and Japan. RHI has a strong position in Japan through a long-standing relationship with Nippon Shinyaku, and in the US, which is a supplement market exceeding US$20 billion in value, RHI is a supplier to the largest branded companies and also sells under its own brand, “Ayurceutics”.

About Avesthagen

Avesthagen is India’s leading integrated systems biology platform company that focuses on achieving convergence of food, pharma and population genetics leading to preventive personalized healthcare. It employs 290 people worldwide and is headquartered in Bangalore. Avesthagen has established world class, state-of-the-art laboratory facilities in Bangalore. Avesthagen was founded by one of India’s pioneers and leading biotech entrepreneurs Dr. Villoo Morawala-Patell, who got her Ph.D. from Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France, in 1993. It began business operations officially in 2001.

Since its inception Avesthagen has grown into one of India's leading healthcare technology group in India, and its activities include, in addition to its agri-biotechnologies product pipeline, development of clinically validated botanical bioactives, derived from Indian medicinal plants, as well as the development of a pipeline of bio-similar drugs. Avesthagen has four strategic business units: bioPharmaceuticals, bioNutrition, bioAgriculture and Science & Innovation. Avesthagen's partners include multiple top 10 global companies in each of its fields of research.

Avesthagen collaborates at every stage in the value chain with appropriate partners, both public and private, for access to and exchange of technology and overall commercial expertise to leverage the ‘India advantage’. Avesthagen employs 290 people worldwide. For Avesthagen on the web: www.avesthagen.com