Novo Holdings announce new Head of Business Development in Asia

Novo Holdings announced on 2 July 2020 that Amit Kakar will be new Head of Business Development for Singapore branch.

Amit Kakar will start in his new role on 1 August 2020 and will be based in Singapore following a period working out of the Novo Holdings headquarters in Denmark. His job will be to lead investments and partnerships across the region, focusing primarily on the markets in China, Japan, Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Amit Kakar was most recently Head of Business Development and M&A at Everlife Asia, a buy-and-build platform, providing solutions for the healthcare and research industries in South East Asia and India. Prior to this, he has held positions across life sciences investment organizations and corporations in China, India and the United States.

“I am very pleased to be joining Novo Holdings, which has an impressive track record and a long-term approach to investing,” Amit Kakar says.

“The prospect of bringing better healthcare through our investments is a big motivation for me, and I look forward to working with the rest of the senior management team to shape and lead the implementation of an ambitious life sciences investment strategy for Asia.”

Amit Kakar will report to Kasim Kutay, CEO at Novo Holdings. Kasim Kutay says:

“We are delighted that Amit Kakar is joining Novo Holdings to lead our efforts in Asia. Amit is an experienced business leader and investor with an impressive track record. He brings more than 25 years of valuable leadership and investment expertise within life sciences as well as an in-depth knowledge of our focus Asia markets.”

“We have followed the life sciences markets in Asia closely, and the growth, the demographics and the increased focus on innovation and R&D make the region a compelling area for us to explore investment opportunities. The industry is young and dynamic, with an underlying investment ecosystem that is rapidly developing, and we believe that our long-term approach and partnering mindset is well suited to the region.”

Novo Holdings is a world-leading life science investor with a focus on long-term, sustainable value creation with USD 62 billion in assets. Novo Holdings will enhance this position by expanding its geographical investment scope to include Asia, complementing its already extensive investment activities in Europe and the United States. For this purpose, Novo Holdings has appointed Amit Kakar as Head of Asia.

Novo Holdings expects to invest out of three of its life sciences investment areas in Asia: Principal Investments, making sizable investments in leading, well-established life sciences companies; Novo Growth, providing expansion capital to high-growth life sciences companies and Novo Ventures, investing in venture stage biotech and medical technology companies.

 

Amit Kakar’s biography:

Career

2017–2020 Head of Business Development and M&A, Everlife Asia

2015–2016 Co-Founder and Managing Partner Aequus Capital Management

2007–2014 Head of Healthcare Asia at Avenue Capital Group

1993–2007 Various senior management roles at GE (General Electric) Healthcare

Education

M.D in Nuclear Medicine from the Radiation Medicine Centre & Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai, India

M.B.B.S (Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery) at V.S.S Medical College, Orissa, India

About Zazithorn Ruengchinda

ScandAsia Journalist • Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. • Bangkok Thailand

View all posts by Zazithorn Ruengchinda

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