Pharmaceutical giant Cipla Ltd said on Friday it would buy a 21.05% stake in Achira Labs Pvt Ltd, which develops and commercialises point-of-care (POC) medical test kits in India, for Rs 25 crore. Cipla said in a regulatory filing that the company had signed a definitive agreement with Achira Labs for this purpose.

“This investment will facilitate the participation of Cipla entities in the fields of PoC diagnostics and AMR (antibacterial resistance) through the design, development and manufacture of microfluidics-based technology strategies,” it said.

Achin Gupta, the CEO of Cipla One India Business, said: “This investment will further our commitment to bring innovative, affordable and quality diagnostic solutions to all. We are committed to caring for lives and will continue our investment strategies to ensure access to point-of-care testing kit solutions.”

Being able to identify the wrong PoC that is causing the infection quickly will be very helpful in choosing the right antibiotic early in the treatment process. Cipla said the transaction is expected to close within 60 days of the signing of the definitive agreement or such other date as mutually agreed by the parties and will be subject to the condition’s precedent outlined in the definitive agreement.

Bengaluru-based Achira is a medical diagnostics company that uses microfluidics to develop medical diagnostics products that bring complex medical tests closer to the point of diagnosis, treatment and administration.