National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) announces an

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) announces an investment of INR 2,100 crore in Manipal Hospitals through its NIIF Strategic Opportunities Fund

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) is pleased to announce an investment of INR 2,100 crore in Manipal Hospitals, one of India’s largest multi-speciality healthcare providers, through its NIIF Strategic Opportunities Fund (SOF), the direct private equity fund of NIIF. This investment marks SOF’s first investment in the Indian healthcare sector and will support Manipal Hospital’s journey of growth to become one of India’s largest hospital chains. The transaction has been signed by both parties and the closing of the transaction is subject to receipt of certain approvals.

Manipal Hospitals, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, has a major presence across India with 15 hospitals and a key focus on tertiary and quaternary care. The recent announcement of their acquisition of Columbia Asia Hospitals, a leading chain of hospitals, will augment their growth aspirations to become a healthcare provider of choice with high-quality multi-specialty offerings and a country-wide presence.  

Demand for healthcare has been growing and this has been further accentuated in the backdrop of the pandemic. SOF focuses on sectors that are closely linked to India’s growth and benefit from the country’s demographics, consumption, investment, and policy trends.  Within these sectors, SOF invests at a scale that is unique among home-grown Indian private equity funds and invests either through control investments or by partnering with high-quality management teams who combine entrepreneurship with best-in-class governance and top-notch expertise.

 Sujoy Bose, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of NIIF, said, “We are delighted to partner with Manipal Hospitals in their next phase of growth. Through this investment, NIIF looks forward to playing a role in serving the healthcare needs of India. The strong governance, processes and track record of Manipal Hospitals resonate well with NIIF’s investment philosophy. It is exciting to partner with a highly capable management team that has created one of the most efficient healthcare delivery platforms in the country.”

Dr. Ranjan Pai, Chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group, said, “We are very pleased to join hands with NIIF as Manipal Hospitals continues on its path to reach many more geographies and under-served communities to provide both access and superlative clinical outcomes. Investing in the healthcare sector requires a long-term outlook as well as a sensitivity to social responsibilities, and I am glad that in NIIF we have a partner who shares these perspectives.”

MANIPAL HOSPITALS ENTERS INTO A

MANIPAL HOSPITALS ENTERS INTO A DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE 100% STAKE IN COLUMBIA ASIA HOSPITALS IN INDIA

 ·         The transfer of ownership to Manipal Hospitals is subject to applicable regulatory approvals

·         The acquisition helps Manipal Hospitals further promote excellence in delivery of healthcare services, with an enhanced pan-India footprint and foray into East India

·         Together, the combined entity will have a presence of 27 hospitals across 15 cities with 7,300+ beds and a talented pool of 4,000+ doctors and 10,000+ employees

 Manipal Hospitals, one of India’s largest multi-specialty healthcare providers, today announced its intent to acquire 100% stake in Columbia Asia Hospitals Private Limited (Columbia Asia). The transfer of ownership to Manipal Hospitals is expected to be completed post regulatory approvals.  The strong clinical expertise and breadth of services of Manipal Hospitals, complemented by the strengths of Columbia Asia in clinical and service quality, will ensure that the integrated organization would be uniquely placed to improve access and address the growing demand for high quality tertiary and quaternary healthcare in the country.

Commenting on the deal, Dr. Ranjan Pai, Chairman, Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG), said, “We are very pleased to welcome Columbia Asia Hospitals to the Manipal family and proudly acknowledge their outstanding track record of healthcare delivery of a very high standard over the years. Columbia Asia makes a compelling strategic fit to our core values of clinical excellence, patient centricity and ethical practices, and will help us advance our commitment to provide outstanding patient care. This is the start of an exceptional journey for us and together with Columbia Asia, we are now bigger, stronger and uniquely positioned to meet the growing expectations of the communities we serve across the country.” 

Columbia Asia Hospitals commenced operations in India in 2005 in Hebbal, Bengaluru and presently operates 11 hospitals across the country in Bangalore, Mysore, Kolkata, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Patiala and Pune. The network comprises of over 1,300 beds, 1,200 clinicians and 4,000 employees.

Sharing his views on the transaction, Dan Baty, Chairman, Columbia Pacific Management said, “From day one, we focused on building a culture of putting the patient first to deliver the highest quality healthcare with integrity and exceptional service. This combination of Columbia Asia and Manipal Hospitals is very exciting because of the strong cultural alignment between the two companies – and the opportunity it provides for continued growth.” 

The acquisition of Columbia Asia offers a remarkable geographical and cultural fit, and provides Manipal Hospitals a larger national footprint.  Together, the combined entity will have 27 hospitals across 15 cities with 7,300+ beds, and a talented pool of 4,000+ doctors and 10,000+ employees. Treating over 4 million patients annually, it would rank amongst the largest healthcare provider networks in the country.

The advisors for Manipal Health Enterprise Pvt. Ltd. was Allegro Capital Pvt. Ltd. and Columbia Pacific was advised by Morgan Stanley.

"SWASTHVAYU” - INDIA’S INDIGENOUS VENTILATOR SOON TO

“SWASTHVAYU” - INDIA’S INDIGENOUS VENTILATOR SOON TO START HUMAN CLINICAL TRIALS AT MANIPAL HOSPITALS, BENGALURU

The invention of ventilators has saved the lives of numerous patients, suffering from respiratory failure-a medical emergency characterized by low oxygen and high carbon-dioxide levels in the body due to the inability to breathe appropriately as compared to a normal healthy person. 

‘SwasthVayu’ is the first “Made in India” non-invasive ventilator being developed by the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru in scientific and medical knowledge collaboration with Dr Satyanarayana Mysore HOD, Pulmonology Respiratory & Sleep Medicine, Lung Transplant Physician at Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru and Dr Anurag Agarwal, Director of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB).

At the beginning of the pandemic, foreseeing the large outbreak of COVID 19 cases in India, there was a clarion call by the Honorable Prime Minister to all the entrepreneurs and scientists, to innovate and ramp up health care systems, including increasing the number of ventilators. The number of people who would require such ventilators was expected to be high and this was not going to be met with the existing numbers in India, nor would it be met through imports. Hence there was a compelling need for indigenous ventilators to mitigate the acute shortage of ventilators. Apart from COVID patients, these ventilators could also benefit and support patients suffering from other respiratory disorders like complex sleep-disordered breathing such as the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea (CSA) and heart failure (HF).

The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), a constituent of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, swung into action and took the challenge to develop SwasthVayu - an indigenous, non-invasive, portable ventilator with clinical inputs from well-known pulmonologist Dr. Satyanarayana and Dr. Anurag Agarwal. SwasthVayu is equipped with advanced features like Bi-level mode (BiPAP), Continuous Positive Airway Mode (CPAP), Spontaneous modes and 3D printed HEPA-T filter adapter connected directly to the non-ventilated mask. “This is of paramount importance in minimizing the risk of virus spread. The device also has a special provision to connect to the oxygen concentrator externally”, added Dr. Satyanarayana.

Dr. C.M. Ananda, Chief scientist and Head Electronics Division of NAL said that the device has been subjected to trials on artificial lung models and has successfully passed stringent electrical safety, performance, calibration, bio-compatibility tests at National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited laboratory. The device is registered with the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) regulatory authorities. The device is ideal to treat patients with respiratory failure in both COVID and non-COVID situations, either in the ICU or non-intensive medical conditions. Further, this provides an opportunity for scarce ICU beds not to be overburdened and to be used for severely affected patients.

Dr Satyanarayana further added, “Considering the nation’s endeavor of attaining self-reliance, indigenous production of this device, which for long had always been imported, is itself a mile stone.

The Ethics Committee, and the scientific committee at Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru has scrutinized and approved the device for clinical trials under Dr Satyanarayana, Head of Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine as the Principal Investigator. Dr. Satyanarayana further added that “the device will also be a bonanza post-pandemic for treating sleep-disordered breathing including Obstructive Sleep Apnea and other sleep apnea. The clinical trials will begin shortly and for now, the focus will be limited to the successful completion of the trials only.”