BOSTON, Nov. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — GreenLight Biosciences Inc., an RNA-focused biotech (“GreenLight”), and Environmental Impact Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: ENVI) today announced an expansion of its PIPE financing to an aggregate $124 million in gross proceeds. The expanded financing includes a $10 million strategic investment from Serum Life Sciences Ltd (“Serum Life Sciences”), a subsidiary of Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. (the “Serum Institute”).
The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, the Serum Institute sells more than 1.5 billion doses to over 160 countries; this includes national immunization programs and vaccines addressing polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib, BCG, r-Hepatitis B, measles, mumps, and rubella.
Natasha Poonawalla, the chairperson of Serum Life Sciences, said: “Serum Life Sciences is delighted to invest in the future of GreenLight Biosciences, with the objective of accelerating the development and distribution of RNA vaccines.” Serum Institute was founded in 1966 by Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla with the aim of manufacturing life-saving immuno-biologicals, which were in shortage in the country and imported at high prices. That mission continues today.
Both Serum Life Sciences and GreenLight share a commitment to making healthcare affordable and accessible.
“We are delighted to align with Serum Life Sciences through this investment in our future as a public company,” said GreenLight CEO Andrey Zarur. “The Serum Institute has a long history of delivering vaccines at scale and is playing a pivotal role in the global fight against COVID-19.”
GreenLight’s vision is to develop high-quality, cost-effective solutions that can be widely deployed, including to low- and middle-income countries.
The investment is being made under the same material terms as the $105 million common stock PIPE investment that ENVI and GreenLight announced in August 2021 as part of their proposed business combination. Serum Life Sciences Ltd will acquire shares of the publicly traded company contemporaneously with the closing of the business combination at the same price of $10 per share as existing PIPE investors.
Environmental Impact Acquisition Corp. has $207 million held in trust in addition to the PIPE financing. With the addition of Serum Life Sciences, Fall Line Capital and Viceroy Capital, the PIPE investors include, S2G Ventures, Cormorant Asset Management, Morningside Venture Investments, Hudson Bay Capital, BNP Paribas Ecosystem Restoration Fund, The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, Continental Grain Company, Pura Vida Investments LLC, Xeraya Capital, and MLS Fund II/Spruce.
Environmental Impact Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, has agreed to a business combination with GreenLight Biosciences, a Boston-based biotechnology company dedicated to making ribonucleic acid (RNA) products affordable and accessible for human health and agriculture.
