Metahelix Life Sciences
Designation: MD & CEO : V Shankar
Revenue: Rs 334.08 crore

For the FY2015-16, Bangalore-based Metahelix Life Sciences' revenue hit Rs 334.08 crore, a major jump from Rs 310 crore from the previous fiscal. Metahelix is a fully-owned subsidiary of Tata Group's Rallis India, an agro-chemical company. During the fiscal year under review, Metahelix entered into a joint venture with a local business partner in Indonesia for seed production and distribution. Metahelix is said to hold 49 percent stake in the JV.

The JV is part of Metahelix's strategic plan to expand its seeds business in the South East Asian region.

In the future it aims to broaden its geographical boundaries in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar and Vietnam.

The agro-based biotechnology company's capabilities includes all aspects of gene mining, development, molecular biology, crop transformation, phenotyping, assaying and trait development. Metahelix's biotech activities are all based out of Bangalore.

The transgenic traits being developed in the company include Bt cotton (Bollworm and Spodoptera tolerance), and Bt rice (Yellow Stem Borer tolerance). According to the company, new and novel RNAi technologies are being developed for virus and fungal tolerance traits in rice, maize and vegetable crops.

Metahelix's breeding programs are spread across Ahmedabad, Attur, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.