Lamark Biotech’s Bold Bet on Thermostable Insulin Could Transform Diabetes Care in India and Beyond In a major win for healthcare innovation in India, Lamark Biotech, an Ahmedabad-based
In a major win for healthcare innovation in India, Lamark Biotech, an Ahmedabad-based biopharma startup, has raised Rs 6.5 crore in a pre-Series A funding round led by IAN Group, including IAN Alpha Fund powered by BioAngels, and a group of top angel investors with deep expertise in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
For a startup that began with a vision to fix one of the biggest blind spots in global healthcare — temperature-sensitive biologics — this funding is more than just capital. It’s a greenlight to build out a new class of thermostable drugs that could dramatically improve access to treatment for millions, especially in low-resource settings.
The global pharmaceutical supply chain has one glaring weakness: the cold chain. From vaccines to insulin, many life-saving drugs rely on refrigeration every step of the way — from factory to patient.
But what happens when:
Medicines lose potency. People suffer. And costs skyrocket.
Lamark Biotech is solving that. With its ProteoStrong™ platform, the startup has developed a breakthrough method to stabilize fragile, protein-based biologics like insulin without altering their molecular structure. That means drugs can be shipped, stored, and used in high-heat environments — no cold chain required.
Founded in 2018 by Dr. Vaibhav Bhatia, a biochemist and entrepreneur with a passion for equitable healthcare, Lamark’s proprietary ProteoStrong™ platform is built on five years of rigorous R&D.
The platform enables the stabilization of protein therapeutics like:
These are some of the most effective — and fragile — treatments used today, especially for chronic conditions like diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and genetic diseases.
What makes Lamark’s tech stand out is that it preserves the natural molecular integrity of proteins while boosting heat resistance, making it ideal for developing countries and remote regions that lack refrigeration.
Lamark’s lead program, InsulinStrong, is aimed at shaking up the Indian insulin market, currently valued at over Rs 4,000 crore and growing rapidly due to the country’s escalating diabetes burden.
India is home to over 77 million diabetics — second only to China — and access to affordable, effective, and temperature-stable insulin could be a game-changer.
InsulinStrong is designed to maintain full efficacy across varying climates, which is a huge leap forward for:
With Rs 6.5 crore in new capital, Lamark Biotech has laid out a focused 24-month roadmap:
Advance InsulinStrong into pre-clinical and early human trials.
Adapt the technology to other high-impact biologics, including monoclonal antibodies and rare disease therapies.
Strengthen IP protections and broaden its global defensibility across biotech markets.
Forge collaborations with contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), health agencies, and drugmakers.
Focus on regulatory strategy and partnerships in Southeast Asia, the UAE, and eventually Africa.
Lamark is more than just vision — it’s built on deep scientific partnerships. The company operates from the Venture Center at the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Innovation Park in Pune, a leading biotech incubator known for spinning out globally relevant tech.
Lamark also received early-stage support from VIT-TBI, a tech incubator that helped fund its first $41.3K seed round. This close relationship with India’s premier research ecosystems has given Lamark access to talent, testing infrastructure, and translational science capabilities rarely available to young startups.
The implications of thermostable biologics are global.
Cold chain failures cause 20%–30% of vaccine wastage. A similar problem affects insulin distribution.
Remote island populations often go without critical medicines due to lack of refrigerated shipping routes.
Health workers struggle to carry viable insulin into war-torn areas, refugee camps, and disaster zones.
If Lamark succeeds, its platform could rewrite how we deliver essential medicines in the Global South and beyond.
The round was led by some of the most respected names in India’s angel investing ecosystem:
Padmaja Ruparel, Co-founder of IAN, summed up their confidence in the company:
“Lamark’s innovation aligns perfectly with our mission to back companies solving real-world, urgent problems. Their solution is especially critical in low-resource environments where cold chains simply don’t work.”
While billion-dollar pharma companies chase high-margin blockbuster drugs, Lamark Biotech is tackling a more fundamental question:
“What good is a life-saving drug if it can’t survive the journey to the patient?”
With a clear vision, validated science, and a product that serves both profit and purpose, Lamark could soon emerge as a breakout star in the thermostable biologics space — not just in India, but on the global stage.
And as healthcare systems worldwide continue to grapple with climate change, pandemic recovery, and supply chain failures, Lamark’s moment may have just arrived.
