VAV expands capacity for COVID-19 lipids

VAV Life Sciences has invested Rs 15 crores ($2 million) to boost production capacity to meet the unprecedented overseas demand for lipidic ingredients. These lipids are highly specialised biomolecules that are produced in small quantities and are used in the production of COVID-19 vaccines and other medicines for treating a variety of conditions like cancer and heart disease, the company said in a statement.

Speaking about the expansion, Arun Kedia, Managing Director, VAV, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic and mucormycosis (black fungus) infections, as well as the rising incidence of cancer or genetic diseases, has brought lipids under the limelight. There was an unprecedented surge in demand for these biomolecule lipids, which led to supply distress in India and globally. Since VAV is the only Indian company that makes these specialised lipids, we accepted the challenge to immediately ramp up production to meet the demand.”

According to the company statement, the project is funded by internal accruals and EXIM Bank debt.

The statement also claimed that VAV is the only Indian and fourth global producer of highly-purified lipids that are approved for use in Novel Drug Delivery Systems (NDDS). The nanotechnology research-based biopharmaceutical company is now undertaking a major expansion project at its EU GMP-certified site based in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. On completion, the expanded facility will produce about six times its current volume, thereby increasing lipid production to meet about 40 per cent of global demand. The new capacity which would be operational from June 2022 will boost VAV’s sales by about 3.5 times to reach Rs 45 crores ($6 million) by 2023.