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UTI Venture takes 17.5 pc stake in Strand

Our Bureau

BANGALORE, Nov. 3

UTI Venture Funds has picked up 17.5 per cent equity in Strand Genomics, a bio-informatics spin-off from the Indian Institute of Science.

Without disclosing the stake amount, Dr Vijay Chandru, Strand's founder President & Chief Scientist, and Dr S. Seshadri, COO, said they were expecting more foreign VCs to invest in the company very soon.

Strand was launched last November by four scientists of the IISc with angel investments. It provides customised high-end software solutions, enabling drug discovery to pharma and biotech companies.

This is UVF's first funding of university-based start-ups and it is looking at more such ventures, UVF CEO, Mr K.E.C. Raja Kumar, said. It has funded half a dozen ventures so far.

Dr Seshadri announced the company's first product, Sphatika, which enables fast determination of protein structures. An exclusive tie-up is being finalised with a leading company, he added.

The company is working on its ambitious project to develop a suite of drug discovery tools, called Oyster, in the next two years.