Innobic to pursue more strategic partners
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Innobic to pursue more strategic partners

Life science firm to rely less on PTT

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Mr Buranin says Innobic (Asia) is developing a plan to become more financially independent.
Mr Buranin says Innobic (Asia) is developing a plan to become more financially independent.

Innobic (Asia) Co, the life science arm of national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc, is focusing on forming more strategic partnerships as part of a self-financing approach to fund businesses less dependent on the parent company, says chairman Buranin Rattanasombat.

Earnings for Innobic primarily come from pharmaceutical and food businesses, and the company wants to consider a long-term plan to list on the stock exchange, he said.

"We want to be more agile, aiming to achieve higher efficiency," said Mr Buranin, who is also PTT's chief of new business and infrastructure.

The push for self-financing followed PTT's decision to revisit its subsidiaries that operate a variety of non-oil businesses ranging from electric vehicle assembly to medicines.

Executives agreed to have Innobic become more self-reliant with less financial support from PTT.

One way to be more financially independent is to seek more business partners, he said.

Under a strategic partnership, two firms collaborate on joint business goals by sharing finance, skills and other resources.

Established in 2020 with registered capital of 13 billion baht, Innobic decided to acquire shares in Lotus Pharmaceutical, a listed manufacturer in Taiwan and a distributor of medical drugs in South Korea and the US.

Innobic initially bought a 6.66% stake in the company before increasing the shareholding to 37%.

Both Innobic and Lotus Pharmaceutical share a goal of developing the generic drug business in Southeast Asia to strengthen public health in the region.

Lotus Pharmaceutical wants to focus on the treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

"Many countries in Asia have become ageing societies, leading to more demand for NCD medicines," said Mr Buranin.

Other investments by Innobic include the acquisition of a 16.6% share in Namwiwat Medical Corporation Plc, a Thai manufacturer specialising in cleaning and sterilisation systems for healthcare, pharmaceutical and research labs, and acquiring a 20% share in Inter Pharma Plc, a producer and marketer of probiotic food supplements.

Innobic also founded Innobic Nutrition Co as a food supplement distributor.

He said these investments should pave the way for the company to become a leader in the medical and food supplement fields.

Innobic also operates a plant-based meat production facility in Ayutthaya through Nutra Regenerative Protein Co, a joint venture between Innobic and Nove Foods Co, a unit of SET-listed NR Instant Produce, a producer of vegetarian and plant-based food.

The company's production capacity is 3,000 tonnes per year.

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