Fidelity Growth Partners India Leads a $40 Million Investment Round in Aptuit Laurus Private Limited

Mumbai, India, February 14, 2012: Fidelity Growth Partners India (FGPI) has led a round of investment of approximately $40M in Hyderabad-based Aptuit Laurus Private Limited (Laurus), a company that develops and manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

Dr. Chava Satyanarayana, founder and CEO of Laurus, also participated in this round of financing.

Laurus is a leading manufacturer of APIs for anti-retroviral (HIV-AIDS), oncology, nutraceutical and several other products, with a customer base that spans top-tier generic pharmaceutical companies in India and abroad. In addition to the API business, the company has a fast growing contract research and manufacturing business offering that caters to several marquee innovation-driven, global pharmaceutical companies. Laurus was established in 2005 by Dr. Satyanarayana after his successful stint as Chief Operating Officer of Matrix Laboratories. Dr. Satyanarayana is an eminent scientist with over 100 patents to his credit. In 2007, the company entered into a partnership with US-based Aptuit, Inc., a leading provider of contract R&D services to the global pharmaceutical industry. Laurus has established state-of-theart facilities for R&D and manufacturing, which have been accredited by several international regulatory authorities including the US FDA, UK MHRA and Australian TGA. The company has grown rapidly since its first full year of commercial operations in 2008, recording revenues of around $60M in 2010.

Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Raj Dugar, Senior Managing Director at FIL Capital Advisors (India), the private equity advisory arm for FGPI, said, "We are very excited to partner with Dr. Satyanarayana and his superb management team. In a short span of time, Laurus has established global leadership positions in its key product offerings, built world-class infrastructure and serves a top-tier customer base. The company continues to drive innovation in its strong product pipeline of difficult-to-make molecules, which we believe will help it build a long-term defensible business.”

Dr. Satyanarayana said, “Laurus has built a strong reputation in product development and manufacturing, and a track record in delivering high-quality products to its customers. We are glad to partner with FGPI in this phase of our growth where we will seek to continue the thrust on innovation and manufacturing excellence in offering cost effective products and services.”

About Fidelity Growth Partners India

Fidelity Growth Partners India (FGPI) is the India-focused private equity arm of Fidelity Worldwide Investment, focused on cross-sector growth capital investing. FGPI seeks to invest in high-quality, high-growth companies in India across a broad range of sectors with typical investment sizes ranging from $10 million to $50 million. FGPI is committed to making the companies it invests in leaders in their industries through access to patient capital with a long term investment mindset, a powerful network of resources and a team of investment professionals with a proven track record of success. Fidelity, Fidelity Worldwide Investment and Fidelity Growth Partners India are trademarks of FIL Limited.

About Aptuit Laurus Private Limited

Based in Hyderabad, Aptuit Laurus Private Limited (Laurus) develops and manufacturers active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), with a focus on anti-retroviral (HIV-AIDS), oncology and nutraceutical products. The company supplies its APIs to several Indian and global pharmaceutical companies. In addition to the API business, Laurus offers contract research (analytical and formulation development) and manufacturing services to innovative pharmaceutical companies. Laurus has world-class infrastructure, consisting of a state-of-the-art R&D and scale-up laboratory in Hyderabad and large-scale manufacturing facilities at Vishakhapatnam. These facilities are 100% export oriented units (EOUs) and have been accredited by several international regulatory agencies including the US FDA, UK MHRA, Australian TGA and Korean FDA. The company currently employs 800+ people.

For more information, please visit www.aptuitlaurus.com

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