Kotak Alts invested ₹20 Cr in Cellogen Therapeutics, a cell and gene therapy startup developing CAR-T treatments for cancers and blood disorders
The investment, made via the Kotak Life Sciences Fund I (KLSF-I), comes after Natco Pharma earlier acquired over 5% stake in Cellogen for ₹15 Cr
Cellogen’s next-generation CAR-T therapies aim to be more affordable and effective than existing options in the market, bringing cost down from $500K to $60K
Biotech startup Cellogen Therapeutics has secured ₹20 Cr (about $2 Mn) in funding from Kotak Alternate Asset Managers (Kotak Alts).
The startup plans to use the capital to advance its CAR‑T clinical programmes, expand its gene therapy pipeline, and strengthen its GMP‑compliant manufacturing and regulatory capabilities.
Kotak Alts made the investment through the Kotak Life Sciences Fund I (KLSF-I), an investment vehicle for early- and growth-stage lifescience and healthtech ventures.
Founded in 2021 by Dr. Gaurav Kharya and Dr. Tanveer Ahmad, Cellogen Therapeutics is a cellular engineering and gene therapy startup. It develops next‑generation therapies utilising Chimeric Antigen Receptor T (CAR-T) cells to treat cancers and blood disorders with an aim to make life-saving therapies more affordable and accessible. While current treatments cost $500K to $700K, the startup aims to price its treatments at $60K to $70K.
The startup’s core platform is a bispecific, dual-antigen CAR-T therapy. In simple terms, while conventional CAR-T therapies look for a single marker to attack cancer cells, Cellogen Therapeutics’s platform targets two different markers. Not only is this a more effective approach to cancer care, it also has a lower probability of relapse compared to the existing CAR-T treatments.
Cellogen Therapeutics claims it is working towards phase I human clinical trials, subject to regulatory approvals, in collaboration with CMC Vellore. Earlier last year, it bagged a patent for its CAR-T platform.
In addition, the startup is also developing early-stage programmes for beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease.
Prior to raising capital from Kotak Alts, Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Natco Pharma acquired over 5% stake in Cellogen Therapeutics for ₹15 Cr.
Kotak Alts’ marked the first close of KLSF-I in January last year at ₹250 Cr (around $29 Mn) from family offices, UHNIs (ultra high net worth individuals), industry veterans and other institutions. The fund is specifically dedicated to backing startups in life sciences, medical devices, digital health, consumer wellness, diagnostics and delivery, across the entire life cycle, i.e. investing in early, growth and late stage.
In February, nutrition supplements startup ZeroHarm Sciences secured ₹65 Cr ($7.2 Mn) in a funding round led by KLSF-I and Alkemi Growth Capital.
Notably, the biotech sector in the country has been booming in recent years. The country is home to more than 11,000 biotech startups. To further promote research, manufacturing, and innovation in the sector, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced a new ‘Biopharma SHAKTI’ scheme in this year’s Union Budget.
