Hot Biotech Startups Lowres

11 Hot Biotech Start-ups
GANIT labs Others to watch out for
Crystalin Research DSR Geomone Technologies
Invictus Oncology Mapmygenome
Mitra Biotech MedGenome
QTLomics inDNA Life Sciences
Theramyt Novobiologics Nature Biochem
Tergene Biotech Jai Health
Vyome Biosciences
Sea6 Energy
Xcode Life Science
ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 25

11th Anniversary Special
Hot Biotech Start-ups
Crystalin Research
Chalk-to-salt is our
success mantra
Dr Ashwini Nangia is the founder of the four-year-old new start-up Crystalin
Research, which is Indias first scientific enterprise focusing exclusively on R&D
in solid-state crystalline forms for the pharmaceutical industry
A
n academician by profession and having The companys main focus is in the area of pharmaceu-
a doctorate degree in chemistry from ticals. Dr Nangia back then felt that rather than making
the prestigious Yale University, today molecules in drug discovery, they would work on doing
he dons a dual-role as an entrepreneur late-stage drug translation.
and as well as a professor of chemistry
at the University of Hyderabad. The company was officially registered in 2011 and was
given the name Crystalin Research, which is an amal-
Academics Vs gamation of crystal and India, as its
Entrepreneurship work primarily deals with solid-state
In 2009, the government felt the need to crystals. He continues, We also work
empower professors and academicians on molecules which are in late-stage of
to commercialize their inventions. It their therapeutic efficacy, stability, for-
brought out a scheme called Knowledge mulation, drug characteristic, and drug
Equity in 2009, which is based on the effectiveness.
common model seen in the US and UK,
where professors run their own compa- With the chalk-to-salt platform tech-
nies parallely without giving up their nology, we have a task of taking drug
teaching careers. molecules and improve its efficacy by
improving the viability. Viability is a
We took advantage of this new scheme big rate limiting factor for drug efficacy.
that allowed academicians to run their More than 80 percent of pharmaceuti-
companies along-side being professors. Dr Ashwini Nangia cals is sold in the tablet form, explained
It is a breakthrough innovation and the Dr Nangia.
thinking of the policy-makers was futuristic in terms of
starting Technology Business Incubator (TBI) labs. Thus, Crystalin Research mainly caters to genomics and phar-
Crystalin Research started in January 2010, adds Dr maceutical industry who are seeking leads in terms of
Nangia. Now both, my company and academic research drug formulations, drug modifications, repurposing of
labs are located in the same campus of the Hyderabad drugs, and renewing old drug formulations as new enti-
University. ties with new and improved properties.
He further emphasized, It is very convenient to monitor The biggest challenge was to begin a start-up hailing from
both the work simultaneously. We have also applied for an academic background, said the academician-turned-
DSIR certification for our R&D labs to the Department of entrepreneur. It took more than a year to convince
Science and Technology (DST), and we were granted the people that one can play dual roles. It is difficult to get
certification. across to people that one can navigate across these two
zones seamlessly. Secondly, we are only a R&D company.
26 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com

So people often ask us how we earn and sustain. Com- Many start-ups are launched by people who have worked
panies that are 200 percent dedicated to R&D is a new in the US or other developed countries, and they tend to
concept in India, but now their numbers are increasing in speak the language of that ecosystem. This will not work
the start-up cluster. Thirdly, even though we are an R&D in India, he affirmatively explained.
company, we need a revenue chain to sustain ourselves,
expresses Dr Nangia. The government is a key catalyst in supporting start-ups,
feels Dr Nangia. It (government) has reasonably done
Dr Nangia, while speaking about funding through ven- well in the last 5 years. Several new schemes from DBT,
ture capitalists, Dr Nangia says, I made two observations DST, and CSIR are talking and thinking on the same
about venture capitalists. Their time frames are very wavelength. DBTs BIRAC and BIG scheme is on the simi-
short, which is about three months. Most R&D start-ups lar lines compared to the US. At times, private funding
need one-to-two years to establish themselves well. We is a major challenge. BIRAC and DBT can develop risk-
were way far beyond their waiting time. So I knew none evaluation based equity to fund start-ups in the biotech,
of our products can be brought to the market within three he advises.
months. Hence we didnt aggressively pursue VCs for our
funding. Most start-ups by their very nature are public-private
partnerships, thinks Dr Nangia. They cant be 100 per-
When you receive large amounts from VCs, you need to cent relying on themselves, he states. They either need
be committed to deliver the results in a relatively shorter to go to an institute or a university or an innovation clus-
time period. I think the key missing link here is that when ter lab. Only when a start-up grows up completely, it can
you need funding below `1 crore, you can approach the stand on its own without a PPP platform. Hence, PPP,
DBT for your aid. When you need funding above `5 crore, start-ups and innovation labs are part of the same growth
VCs gladly support you, commented Dr Nangia. system.
However when you need funds between `2-5 crore, then In the Indian environment, I would like to see the ac-
VCs backtrack because they feel that the project is not ademia-industry partnership ecosystem become well
of critical size or mass. There is a need to bridge this so integrated with technology, innovation labs and cen-
called valley of death, which is between `2-5 crore of ters. More scientists should be empowered to start their
capital fund-raising. own companies. In that way, many of the discoveries
will move from lab to scale-up, and translation stud-
The best way to start is to start where you have ten other ies to the market, in a natural way, ends Dr Nangia
companies like yours. This will give a sense of moral con- optimistically. BS
fidence and share facilities, since you cant build every-
thing on your own. Raj Gunashekar

GANIT labs
Untangling data knots

GANIT labs, a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative between Institute of
Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology and Strand Life Sciences, works
exclusively in the area of DNA sequencing
Chandru, a former professor at Indian Institute of Sciences

and CEO of Strand Life Sciences. While Dr Panda, a PhD
in molecular virology from the Oxford University and an
American Cancer Society post doctoral fellow, returned
back to India to do something in the not so much talked
about area, Dr Chandru too was very enthusiastic about
the same. The founders felt that there was tremendous
scope for small-scale application driven research in ge-
nomics that nobody was doing at the given point and time.
Strand initially got in touch with few governments in

the Middle East and Malaysia to create a lab on the lines
of GANIT before finding the Indian government inter-
ested. The generous funding of `20 crores from govern-
ment agencies and an almost equal amount from Strand,
helped the company to spearhead its activities (although
the amount is still considered less given the high cost of
technologies). Funded by the Department of Information
Technology, Government of India and Department of In-
formation Technology, Biotechnology and Science and
Technology, Government of Karnataka, this PPP venture
has taken off well.
S
et up in 2010, Genomics Application and Apart from its bid on the research activities, GANIT is
Informatics Technology Labs also known also putting efforts to further the research and educa-
as GANIT labs, is a genome sequencing and tional activities at IBAB. The aim is not just to service the
translational genomics bio-IT centre based genome sequencing and gene data analysis needs in the
in Bangalore. It is a not-for-profit, govern-
ment-funded, public-private partnership
GANIT Labs mandate is to do India-specific genomic
initiative between Institute of Bioinformatics and Ap-
research, function as a big academic core lab that
plied Biotechnology (IBAB) and Strand Life Sciences. offers services to anybody who needs it and to train
GANIT Labs is a genome sequencing and translational talent needed to create its replicas. Despite its humble
genomics lab based in Bangalore, India. The lab uses sec- beginnings (when it had just two next generation
ond generation sequencing instruments, compute clus- sequencers as compared to the high throughput
ters and human brains to sequence, analyse and interpret sequencers), GANIT has managed to do well. The
genome data from variety of organisms. company in September 2011, announced that it had
sequenced and analysed the genome and its coding
The initiative was cofounded by Dr Binay Panda, a senior parts of the Neem plant (Azadirachta indica), often
called as the panacea of all diseases.
executive at Strand Life Sciences as well as by Dr Vijay

country but also create human resources needed for the

Founders Quote kind of mega facilities that are expected to be the future
Dr Binay Panda writes in his blog: Success will come of global pharma and medical research. A rare facility in
to those who understand inventions in the field, invest India, GANITs mandate is to solve fundamental scien-
in research, have expert knowledge in genomics and tific problems by conducting experiments using real-time
computational biology and pay meticulous attention PCR, DNA microarray and next-generation sequencing
to quality control. Cost arbitrage alone will not work equipments along with analysing and interpreting high-
for companies in this sector and the winners have to throughput data coming out from these instruments. The
be inventive and innovative with deep knowledge of lab focuses on solving India-centric scientific problems
the field to design custom solutions for each customer. and understanding of complexity of life by conducting
The winners are not going to be chosen from the who experiments using next-generation sequencing and DNA
did it first list but from the list of who came up with microarrays.
new applications and analysis tools to improve human
health and agriculture. And this is where I see a huge Work at GANIT ranges from whole genome sequenc-
opportunity and potential for India to make a real ing to primary and secondary data analysis, microarray
difference. (including standard gene expression and methylation
experiments), capillary sequencing (using Sanger capil-
Dr Vijay Chandru, co-founder, chairman and CEO, lary methods) and Quantitative PCR. The work can lead
Strand Life Sciences, said that, The GANIT project in to deciphering and understanding the vast genomic and
a way will plug what is commonly called "a biology hole proteomic data of the post-genomic era to combat diseas-
in India" that sees few global pharma companies trust- es like cancer, diabetes or cardio vascular problems. BS
ing Indian industry for end-to-end outsourcing work.
Rahul Koul

Invictus Oncology
A new fighter in the

world of cancer
A start-up that has been the outcome of sheer passion and determination to
fight off cancer, New Delhi-based Invictus Oncology was cofounded by two of
Indias leading scientists
the tumor and not to other parts of the body. This can in-
crease efficacy and reduce side effects of cancer therapy.
In recognition of the innovative activities being carried

out in a time-bound manner to develop cancer therapeu-
tics, the department of scientific and industrial research
(DSIR), has registered Invictus as an in-house R&D unit.
By virtue of this recognition, Invictus can avail a num-
ber of fiscal incentives for R&D and is eligible for receiv-
ing grants from the government of India. This is the only
scheme in the entire government set-up for benchmark-
ing industrial R&D.
Dr Shiladitya Sengupta is the co-founder of Invictus Oncology. He also
serves as the co-chair of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at the
Brigham and Womens Hospital, and an assistant professor of medicine at The synthetic chemistry team at Invictus harnesses the
Harvard Medical School. full potential of platinum-based drugs used as first line
A
of therapy in over 70 percent of all cancers. These novel
lmost two years ago, Prof Shiladitya Sen- platinum-based drugs are engineered using structure ac-
gupta an assistant professor of medicine tivity relationships for increased efficacy with reduced
at Harvard Medical School and Dr Rag- side effects. The company is developing a portfolio of An-
hunath Anant Mashelkar, former direc- tibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), based on its proprietary
tor general, Council for Scientific and linker chemistry. ADCs represent a promising thera-
Industrial Research (CSIR) joined hands peutic strategy for tumor-specific drug delivery, sparing
to transform their ideas into a reality. Despite experts ad-
vising against it and other initial hiccups, the determined
scientists decided to go ahead and the result was the birth
of Invictus Oncology in the year 2012.
The dynamism of Prof Sengupta was well matched with

the experience of Dr Mashelkar which has made Invictus
to gain pace quite fast within a short period of time. The
start-up is developing next generation anticancer supra-
molecular therapeutics for the global market. As cancer
treatment is increasingly becoming combination therapy,
Invictus is developing a platform technology that opti-
mizes more effective drug combinations in a plug and
play manner, such that they are specifically delivered to

We aspire to be a billion dollar company in next five years

Q: What is the current scenario of start-up cul- story so far?
ture in India? Are we doing enough?
Getting approvals took time, and for a start-up that can be
Shiladitya: Current mechanisms are not sufficient to challenging. Also, many key opinion leaders told us that
support start-ups in biotech. The SBIRI mechanism offers it has never been done in India and that it is not possible.
maximum of `50 lakh as matching grant. Typically, burn
rate of a biotech or life sciences is about `10-20 lakh a However, we persevered, raised money, and even if it
month! In the next phase, the mechanism is a loan, which took 1.5 years to get an approval, now we have a fully
actually discourages true innovation and this is risky. functional laboratory, with some of the best scientists
hired from places like Harvard, NCI, UCSB, etc, and nu-
Finally, there are clauses that are ambiguous on IP owner- merous patents filed, and with leads that will likely be in
ship, which can is courage future investments from VCs. the clinics by 2016.
The life science ecosystem is, however, slowly evolving,
and investors are slowly realizing that there is significant Q: Where do you see the company in the next
money to make. five years?
Our goal is to be a billion Dollar company in the next five
Q: What were the initial challenges and how did years. However, our main passion is to build a company
you overcome that? What has been the success that transforms cancer chemotherapy globally
healthy tissues. During its first round of fund-raising, the company has
raised `10.50 crore from investors, Navam Capital and
Invictus also aspires to provide novel insights into the Aarin Capital. Navam Capital is a venture capital firm
genetic mechanisms behind rare and prevalent cancers focused on making seed and early-stage investments in
among Indian patients and also use this information to energy, technology and healthcare. Aarin Capital Part-
design better therapeutics. Analyses of genetic variants ners is a venture capital fund founded by Manipal Global
Education.
causative to the disease will facilitate in determining indi-
viduals at risk for a particular cancer type and identify po-
tential targets for therapeutic purposes. The sequence and ter (IIRC) to foster innovative approaches in cancer care.
genomics-based diagnostics pipeline will be implemented 'Living with Cancer', is a movement initiated by IIRC in
in collaboration with leading medical Institutions in India. association with Invictus Oncology. It aims to educate
those affected that it is possible to 'live' with cancer, rather
Belief in partnering and sharing than the existing perceived notion of 'dying' with cancer.
Given the need for a multidisciplinary approach to devel-
oping therapies, Invictus envisions bringing together a In the pipeline
broad coalition of industry, academia, hospitals, patient The company has pending patent applications directed to
advocates, policy makers and regulators. Invictus has al- cytotoxic ligand-targeted molecules and ligand drug con-
ready partnered with academicians from leading Institu- jugates. The ligand-targeted molecule is composed of a
tions to form valuable public-private partnerships (PPP). ligand bound to a cytotoxic drug, via a linker, forming a
ligand drug conjugate (LDC). The company's proprietary
Along with its partners, the company have built an eco- LDCs are novel compounds for the delivery of platinum
system where we raise the bar for innovation and lower chemotherapeutics. These conjugates are envisioned to
the barriers to achieving success. The focus is to support find wide application as they can also serve as vehicles for
drug/biomarker discovery and development, through the delivery of other cytotoxic chemotherapeutics. Invic-
collaborative research and new networks of industrial, tus also has pending Intellectual Property involving novel
clinical and academic experts. lipid-based nanoparticle chemotherapeutics comprising
novel platinum compounds. BS
Invictus has formed a synergetic collaboration with the
not for profit institute, India Innovation Research Cen- Rahul Koul

Mitra Biotech
Made-to-order
cancer diagnostics
Mitra Biotech with its strong grit and determination, has managed to bring
affordable cancer care to not only India but has managed to spread its wings
across the globe
M
itra Biotech was founded in the year
2009, by Dr Mallik Sundaram, the
present president and CEO of the
firm, and Dr Pradip K Majumdar,
CSO and co-founder. The start up
in the small time has made a com-
mendable progress through its innovation and research,
which is oriented towards spinning off new technology in
the area of personalized cancer care to patients.
Its interesting to sneak into the journey of these found-

ers. Dr Sudaram prior to the association with Mitra was
a scientific co-founder of Momenta Pharmaceuticals.
He was instrumental in developing M-Enoxaparin, Mo-
mentas first billion dollar drug and three other lead drug
candidates through various stages of regulatory approval
in the US. He has pursued his PhD in biotechnology from
the University of Utah, Salt lake City, US, and MBA from
the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylva- On being asked about CANScript, he elaborated and ex-
nia, US. He has been an adjunct faculty in the depart- plained The CANScript technology enables physicians
ment of Bioengineering (2000-07) and the Department to select the most optimal drug or drug combination
of Chemical Engineering (2007 to till date) at the Massa- for a patient under investigation, there by shortening
chusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, US. He has the treatment period and avoiding toxicity that arises
over 50 publications and 12 patents. from non-optimal drugs. The assays are carried out on
patients own tumors by recreating human-tumor mi-
Moving towards Mitras core functioning area, Dr Sunda- croenvironment on plates to ensure high specificity.
ram briefed about the company and commented Mitra The turnaround time for this service is less than a week
Biotech, headquartered in Bangalore, is a translational and it works for multiple solid as well as haematological
company focused in offering personalized cancer care to cancers. The technology can be used to test chemothera-
patients through its proprietary pre-clinical model CAN- peutics, biological molecules and immunomodulators.
Script. Apart from me and Dr Majumdar, Prof Charles Another application of CANScript is in enabling rational
Cooney (professor of chemical Engineering at MIT, drug discovery to help global pharmaceutical and biotech
Boston) and Dr Shiladitya Sengupta (assistant prof at companies to navigate from late discovery to pre-clinical
Brigham and Women Hospital, Harvard University) are and clinical stages of drug development.
also a part of this Harvard-MIT spin off.

Cancer is a dynamic disease. The treatment regimen reasons. Firstly, if we can develop the product and make
prescribed for one person may not be effective in treat- it affordable in India, we can for sure hit any other market
ing another even though they have the same cancer type. in the world. Secondly, we estimated that we would have
On these line Dr Sundaram, mentioned about the role of required spending 10X amount of time in the US to get the
CANScript for personalized cancer care In current sce- amount of clinical validation we have reached in India.
nario, there is a considerable trial and error period be-
fore the physician hits upon the most optimal drug for a Furthermore, Dr Majumdar commented on the challeng-
patient. However, patient health deteriorates to a great es that Mitra had to face in order to be a successful model
extend during this period and it may be too late. It is a that it is today. He expressed India is not the easiest
multidimensional platform technology that challenges market as it is traditionally not the first adapter when it
fresh tumor tissue from a patient against multiple drug comes to diagnostics. The mindset is such that it tends to
combinations in a human-tumor microenvironment rec- follow the adaption of technology in the western market.
reated on plates. Apart from this there is an added challenge of developing
a world class product at a fraction of cost of what might
He further added, CANScript measures various param- be considered affordable in the west. We have overcome
eters like cell viability, proliferation, cell death and mor- these by adapting a mix of business strategies. For exam-
phology using various as- ple, we use different pricing
says. The raw scores from India is not the easiest market as it for different markets; the
each assays are combined diagnostics product is par-
in Mitras proprietary algo-
is traditionally not the first adapter tially offset by the transla-
rithm to arrive at the pre- when it comes to diagnostics. The tional biology market. Also
dictive score called the M- mindset is such that it tends to follow we use different regulatory
Score. Higher the M-Score, strategy at different time.
greater is the patients re- the adaption of technology in the At early time point, we use
sponse to the drug. Within western market the CLIA and CLIA-like lab-
seven days from receiving based-test approach and at
the sample and non-responders which enables physi- later time point we used 510(K) approach. We continu-
cians to make an informed treatment decision. Mitra ously work with DCGI and US FDA to adapt the technol-
has its core lab in Bangalore. Mitra has partnered with ogy and provide the data required by the agencies.
best in class logistics service providers to ensure robust
network and quick transport of sample under regulated Commenting on future plans, he said, CANScript has
conditions. started taking a global shape already with hospitals in
the US and India interested in using it for patient care.
Talking about funds, which is the most crucial and es- We have also received numerous requests from key play-
sential area of interest, Dr Sundaram commented, Tata ers in the UK and Australia to make CANScript available
Capital Innovations Fund managed by Tata Capital be- there. In the coming five years our aim would be to en-
came the latest investor in Mitra Biotech in October, sure that there is convincing argument so that CANScript
2013. They, along with other investors Accel Partners, becomes covered by insurance companies in the US and
India Innovation fund and Kitven participated in the se- elsewhere. Scalability is what we seek to achieve in the
ries B round of funding to help the company scale its go- next five years.
to-market strategy and expand in India and the US. The
investment will help Mitra become a partner of choice for When asked how Mitra is set to stand out, Dr Sundaram
leading healthcare providers, pharmaceutical and bio- on a brighter note said, Mitra looks to make a difference
tech companies by strengthening its business develop- in the personalized cancer care by being the enabler
ment, marketing and R&D teams. whether it is in helping the oncologist select the most
optimal drug or in helping the drug developer selecting
Dr Majumdar, the CSO of Mitra, spoke about its presence the most-likely-to-succeed clinical trial path. We strive
in India. He quoted We are positioning CANScript as a to make the CANScript for one personalized cancer care
global product. We have geographical presence in India (PC) what Intel chip is for the other personal computer
(which we consider as a great example of an emerging (PC). BS
economy) and the U.S (example for developed world).
Our presence in India is of utmost importance for two Monali.Ovhal

QTLomics
Advice of your network

is your net worth
QTLomics is Indias first agri-genomics company, with a mission to develop
novel products, and take technology to farmers by enabling them to breed
better crops and help identify traits in crops
cusing on agriculture.
The name QTLomics is a portmanteau word, derived

from the words Quantitative Trait Locus and Genom-
ics, currently having six employees including scientists,
marketing and sales personnel and financial experts.
According to Dr Raja, the biggest challenge for a start-

up is finding the entry in to the market. QTLomics was
initially incubated at Genotypic Technology during which
we studied the market. The answers were found during
the incubation period, says Dr Raja.
Dr Prasad & Dr Raja
Approximately, `3 crore was invested in bringing QTLo-
W
mics to the market with a two- year incubation time. One
ith an ever increasing population, year down the line, our major challenge will be raising the
70 percent of people residing in capital to convert our R&D in to products. The idea is first
India depends on agriculture for you put your own money and associate with companies
their livelihood. and then ask your friends to aid you further, comments
Dr Raja. Right now the company aims to use all its profits
Dr Krishna Prasad, COO, QTLo- to develop products and in R&D.
mics, says that, Earlier we had
four months of rainy season which now has reduced to a In India, there is no regulation required to sell seeds. In
month or two. All these factors are worrying our farmers India, you dont need certification for hybrid seeds. This
way too much. Thus, we now need to produce more and is our biggest challenge as well. The time has come now
more food, for which seed is pivotal. Now, the challenge for the government to certify seeds. Almost 90 percent of
is farmers need to grow more food in the same space of agriculture is done traditionally using normal seeds. Un-
land. Hence the seed varieties need to be changed. der these circumstances, we help people to self-certify or
we certify the seeds. Certified seeds can be sold for higher
He further elucidates, Hence, we felt that there is a big price, which is an added advantage, explains Dr Raja.
challenge in this and we decided to use technology to
bring about the change by focusing on agriculture. This The collaborations
idea started and was incubated two years ago within Ge- Right now the company has collaborated with DYN Di-
notypic Technology. In December 2013, we decided to agnostics in Israel, who are experts in marker-assisted
move this arm out as a separate subsidiary company fo- breeding (MAB). It also aims to pitch genomic-assisted

breeding to the seed companies. dous visibility to the company. Dr Raja says that he is
very content with the Karnataka governments initiatives
We are now targeting Singapore and the Asian markets and plans.
since breeding is climate dependent because the plants
that we are growing is different from what is grown in People should not complain about government not do-
Europe. In terms of revenues, we will make $1 million in ing anything. They have made life much easier. You have
the first year, and all the profits will be used purely for our to figure out how take advantage of their offerings. And
R&D purposes, reemphasizes Dr Raja. do not expect to be spoon-fed. Find what the government
has to offer with respect to R&D funds, R&D products
We deal with MNCs companies, who have breeding sta- and make use of all of it, reveals Dr Raja.
tions in India and are already applying genomics and
marker-assisted breeding. They companies have issues For young entrepreneurs
sending samples out of India. We are working with them For a start-up, the first two years are critical. Doing the
to provide the services. We basic groundwork and carrying out essential homework
want to work with large In- is indispensable. The time-tested advice of your network
dian seed companies like
We raised our is your net worth. You got to be very strong in you pro-
Nuziveedu Seeds, Kaveri funds through fessional social media circles. In our case, we started our
Seeds, Mahyco, and Rasi friends and angel presence in the professional social media circles even be-
Seeds, who are probably go- fore we even had our website, exclaims Dr Raja.
ing to apply genomics in ag- investors without
riculture. We want to asso- any hassle, rather He further elaborately advises, Do not ever think that you
ciate with mid-sized Indian can start and then raise funds. If you dont have funds, then
companies and importers
than running dont even start. Entrepreneurship is rebellion against es-
and exporters of seeds. In- to venture tablishment. When you rebel, you need to fight hard with
dia is a major importer of capitalists. So our your weapons (capital). Ensure many of the little things
seeds. If companies want are taken care by professionals like registering the com-
to breed the seeds, then we real challenge has pany, taxation or even starting a bank account. Gone are
would be the right people. been postponed the days where entrepreneurs got to do everything, so do
not even bother learning certain things. Focus on some-
One thing we are clear
for now Our thing which you have to learn like the basics of accounting,
about is that we are not go- challengeis to finances and management. Maybe you can learn it through
ing to create and develop raise capital to professional courses, friends and consultants the hard
GMOs using recombinant way. Take your gurus help to learn than from your mis-
DNA technology. Dr Raja convertR&D into takes, because in the current world, time equals money.
optimistically opines that in products
the next one year, the com- Talking from his own experience and mentoring, Dr Raja
pany will have its own green house, farm house and tis- says, For first-generation entrepreneurs, getting a loan
sue culture facility, and a plant molecular biology lab to from the banks is a mammoth challenge. Pooling in mon-
provide end-to-end services. ey from other sources is crucial. The market too poses a
major challenge.
Speaking about innovation at QTLomics, Dr Raja adds,
Once we understand the problem, the next phase would He concludes by saying, Once you find your space and
be to plan about how to get around it. It doesnt neces- place, you run your business with ethical principles. Stop
sarily imply the application of high-end technology. We cribbing about what is not available in the system. Dont
need to look at available technology and see how best we waste your energy breaking through barriers. Just go
can apply them with the least amount of money to create around them. On any given moment, every day we hear
a solution in an innovative way. about the gloomy economy and unavailability of funds.
These are entry-level barriers and are part of the rules of
He continues, We have scientific members from agri- the game. You have to work with it rather than challenge
cultural universities and plant breeders. We would like it. BS
to involve everybody and discuss challenges and how to
deal with it. Social media and publications give tremen- Raj Gunashekar

Sea6 Energy
Seaweeding
unchartered territories
Incubated in July 2010 at IIT-Madras, Sea6 Energy was a result of Dr Shrikumar
Suryanarayans passionate entrepreneurial dream
eo presentation.
After this victory, Dr Suryanarayanan and the team of

students began to sharply focus on biofuels. Consequent-
ly, the team attended algal biofuel conferences. Finally in
2010, seaweed became the center of everybodys thought
processes, in their endeavor to discover an alternative
source of fuel.
The company was started through investments made by

Dr Suryanarayan himself, and as well as contributions
from IIT-ians at Madras, which added up to `1 crore.
Dr Suryanarayanan feels that seaweeds have major ad-

vantages since it has the potential to become the futur-
Dr Shrikumar Suryanarayan istic biofuel, and growing them requires shallow ocean
waters and direct nutrients.
I
n 2007, Dr Shrikumar Suryanarayan stepped Dr Suryanarayanans interest in creating bioenergy
down as the president of R&D at Biocon to be- sprung way back in the 1982, even before the world began
come an academician at IIT-Madras. With a vi- to think on fossil fuel alternatives. So far about three labs
sion to farm the seaweeds in order to meet the are working on macro-algal biofuel including Bio Archi-
growing commercial energy demands, he serves tecture Labs, the Korean Institute of Industrial Technol-
as the chairman of Sea6 Energy. ogy and the Philippines Government.
The company believes that there is an urgent require- India imports about two-thirds of its crude oil at the mo-
ment to replace the traditional fossil fuels with a more ment. In the face of diminishing fossil fuels, their detri-
environmentally friendly alternative. To achieve this, sci- mental effects on the environment and phenomenal price
entists at Sea6 energy are trying to convert photosynthet- rise, the company feels that converting photosynthetic
ic biomass including plants, grasses and algae in to fuels. biomass into fuels is the safe way in creating a sustain-
able future for the next generation.
A handful of students at IIT Madras sought his help to en-
ter the esteemed iGEM competition at the Massachusetts The innovative minds at Sea6 Energy sees a future where
Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. Unfortunately, the vast oceans will become earths biofuel farm house.
the students were denied the visas but still managed to Cultivation of seaweed is not a new technology in our so-
win a prize after demonstrating their idea through a vid- ciety. Seaweed cultivation has been around for centuries

Buoyant team of Sea6 Energy with its mentor and founder Dr Shrikumar Suryanarayan, the recipient of Biospectrum Entrepreneur of the year Award in 2012
all across the world for varied commercial purposes. The to make the laborious seaweed cultivation in to a more
strategic geographical location of Indian sub-continent lighter and efficient one. This will enable cultivators to be
allows it to receive rich and plentiful sunlight for plants. highly productive in the cumbersome process of trying to
India has special access to vast stretches of ocean which convert seaweed farming activity from a labor intensive
gives it an added advantage of cultivating seaweeds at process into an efficient one.
enormous scale thereby creating economic benefits.
However, seaweed cultivation is a laborious process and Seaweed biomass have been identified to be rich in carbo-
the seaweed cultivation process has remain unchanged hydrates which can be converted in to sugars. These sug-
even till this day. ars can further be converted into alcohol and fuel through
advanced techniques in biotechnology. However, the
The team today is focusing on geographical constraints of challenge is that the chemical composition of seaweeds
shallow and calm seas, which are indispensable for tradi- significantly differ from that of terrestrial plants. This
tional seaweed farming. Also, to aid the cultivation, Sea6 needs to be tackled through developing new ways in bio-
Energy has come up with innovative and proprietary technology, which can convert these carb-rich seaweeds
structures for creation of low-cost seaweed farms on the in to sugars and then in to fuel.
surface of the sea.
The company is also relentlessly working on practical ap-
These structures would facilitate cultivation of seaweeds plications in reducing the use of fresh water for seaweed
in turbulent waters, thus opening avenues for vast sea cultivation. By amalgamating various proven techniques
stretches along the coastlines for cultivators. This alto- and making them fit in to the larger jig-saw biotechnol-
gether seem to generate massive employment opportu- ogy puzzle, Sea6Energy firmly believes that biofuels from
nities for the rural population and fishing communicates seaweed can be a viable eco-friendly option for tradition-
along the coastal areas and sea shores. al liquid fossil fuels. BS
Furthermore, Sea6 Energy is also engaged in activities Raj Gunashekar

Tergene Biotech
Affordable vaccine
platform for all
Promoted by a scientist-turned entrepreneur, Tergene Biotech has made a
mark in a short period of time. The company is envisioned to provide quality
human biologics
focus was in developing affordable vaccines against infec-

tious diseases based on the polysaccharide-carrier pro-
tein conjugate platform. Besides vaccines against infec-
tious diseases, Tergene is working on the development of
therapeutic vaccines against antibiotic resistance, cancer
and allergy.
Tergene is developing bio-conjugate platform technolo-

gies for novel vaccines and antibody drug conjugates. It
has developed the multivalent pneumococcal conjugate
vaccine (PCV- 15) employing an innovative micro reac-
tor based conjugation chemistry. Initial funding support
for the PCV-15 project was received from BIRAC and the
company successfully established the proof of concept,
eventual scale-up and validation of the process. In rec-
ognition of this achievement, Tergene was awarded with
Dr M Kuppusamy, MD and CSO, Tergene Biotech receiving the DBT
- BIRAC Innovator Award 2013 from Dr G. Padmanabhan, INSA Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BI-
Senior Scientist, Senior Science and Innovation advisor, Department of RAC) Innovators Award-2013 in the Healthcare sector.
Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India and Dr K VijayRaghavan, Secretary,
The award is in recognition of the company's significant
DBT & Chairman, BIRAC.
contribution to innovative research towards the "Devel-
T
opment of an indigenous India specific 15 valent pneu-
ergene Biotech was founded by Dr Mo- mococcal conjugate vaccine".
suvan Kuppusamy, a biotechnologist
well known in the vaccine industry with The company deeply acknowledges the Biotechnology
three decades of experience in research Industry Partnership Program (BIPP) from BIRAC for
and manufacturing of biologics. Having the financial support and hand holding in the successful
been associated earlier with the various completion of the innovative technology platform. This
prominent companies, Dr Kuppusamy wanted to follow award boosts up the company's morale and encourages
his heart and finally decided to start his own venture. The in pursuing the next stage of clinical validation and early
company started its research and development (R&D) ac- commercialization of the vaccine. The PCV-15 vaccine is
tivities in the year 2010 by acquiring lab space in Biotech- awaiting preclinical and clinical evaluation.
nology Incubation Center, Hyderabad.
Another significant achievement of the company is the
The initial recognition came when its in-house R&D cen- development of a cost effective production technology for
ter was recognized by the Department of Scientific and CRM-197, the safest carrier protein and a key ingredient
Industrial Research (DSIR) in 2011. The main research in the development of PCV-15. It also finds application

Founder speaks:
Q: How do you look at the existing
ecosystem for incubation?
Dr M Kuppusamy: The present ecosystem is good
enough for ignition and proof of concept stages
but the real challenge for start ups is in mobilising
funds for pre-clinical and clinical evaluations.
Uncertainty and delay in regulatory approvals for
preclinical and clinical evaluation is of great concern
for us.
Q: What was crucial for you during initial phase?

A public private partnership is a real opportunity for
start-ups promoted by scientists with technology
as the prime investment. Hence, we appreciate the
timely help from the department of biotechnology
(DBT).
Q: Which product among the

basket looks most appealing?
The CRM-197 is a critical game-changer in the Fermentation Facility
development of affordable conjugate vaccines. The
company has already started supply of GLP grade
CRM-197 to research institutions at competitive in other therapeutic vaccines against cancer and allergy.
price. The company is in the process of building a
GMP compliant manufacturing facility for CRM-197 Tergene offers its partners a full range of services from
with an annual capacity of 10 kg. bioprocess development to manufacturing to approval of
the finished product. A basket of vaccines against bacte-
rial pneumonia is under various stages of development.
Vaccines currently under advanced stage of development
Tergenes broad spectrum of services:
include a multivalent pneumococcal vaccine and Menin-
Technology transfer
Bioprocess development, scale-up and bulk gococcal vaccine. Tergene also had the options to develop
manufacturing a Haemophilius influenzae B conjugate vaccine and acellu-
Fill and Finish and Lyophilization lar pertussis vaccine directed to prevent the main causative
Analytical and Quality control bacterial agents of pneumonia, but is presently focused on
Regulatory Approvals the pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine.
Quality Assurance
The company is setting up a manufacturing facility (as
per good manufacturing practices norms) near Chennai,
Strengths: Tamil Nadu. The state-of-the-art facility will be opera-
Tergene's R&D team have a rich experience tional by the end of 2014 and will be used to manufac-
in the field of biotechnology with individual ture vaccines, biopharmaceuticals and probiotics. This
achievements. Tergene believes that their will give Tergene a manufacturing facility matching the
rich expertise is an asset to the company. The specifications of the US Food and Drug Administration.
technologies under development would contribute The suite will have up to 1000 L of fermentation capac-
a lot to the company's growth and achievement. ity besides state of the art down stream equipments and
The company has successfully developed purifications systems. The suite will have the necessary
technologies for the production of various vaccines
support areas such as formulation and fill-finish facil-
and biosimilars. Acellular Pertussis (ACP) vaccine,
Haemophilus influenzae type B (HiB) conjugated ity for liquid and lyophilized vials. All bio waste gener-
vaccine, Typhoid Vaccine, Streptokinase, Botulinum ated in the process will be thermally inactivated prior to
toxin A, Terinase - a thrombolytic enzyme are some treatment. BS
of the technologies.
Rahul Koul

Theramyt Novobiologics
R&D platforms for

biobetters
Incorporated in July 2013 in Bangalore, Theramyt Novobiologics is a brand
new bioenterprise, jointly cofounded by Kavitha Iyer Rodrigues and Sohang
Chatterjee, who serve as Theramyts COO and CEO respectively.
we had to think global, by partnering with large multina-

tionals with established presence in the regulated market
as well.
With over $100 billion worth of biologics going off-patent

by 2020, the biosimilar market is estimated to be at least
$12 billion by then.
While biosimilars would account for growth, it would

mostly be a cost-driven market. According to Ms Kavitha
and Mr Sohang, it is important to differentiate beyond
cost. Improving on existing products as well as develop-
ing better products with continuous innovations in tech-
nology is the key to Theramyt becoming a game-changer.
Ms Kavitha Iyer Rodrigues, COO, and Dr Sohang Chatterjee, CEO
Our business module is fundamentally divided in to bio-
A
similars and in-house R&D platforms that can convert
fter we exited Strides as founders of In- these biosimilars to biobetters or new biological entities.
biopro in 2012, we realized that our own In the meanwhile, we are partnering with biosimilar play-
biotech journey was incomplete. We ers to develop and license out biosimilars of their inter-
wanted to see our products reach the est. But we are not a CRO, elaborated Ms Rodrigues.
end-users, and do a lot more than churn
out me-too products. Hence we decided Speaking on the many challenges faced while establishing
to focus on R&D platforms that can lead us to biobetters the new start-up, Ms Rodrigues commented, The process
and ultimately in to new therapeutic drugs, added Ms for securing funding took longer than envisaged, mainly
Kavitha Iyer. due to the confusion arising from the suspended pharma
policy on foreign investment. However, the VCs showed
During Theramyts inception, the founders invested per- a lot of faith in our team and in our business model. So
sonal capital and raised a Series A for `27.60 crore from they patiently supported us through the approval and le-
venture capitalists including Accel Partners, IDG Ven- gal process.
tures, Aarin Capital and KITVEN (Karnataka Informa-
tion Technology Venture Capital Fund). She continues, Getting certifications from the Pollution
Control Board (PCB) was another challenge. The whole
Mr Sohang Chatterjee, CEO, Theramyt said, Since the process took a while and we had to realign our timeline
cost of taking a biobetter to market is much higher than and budget based on their delayed approval. Also, the un-
biosimilars and competes with the innovators products, clear regulatory environment is a challenge. But I am sure

this is a process and as the industry matures, we can all ous investments is quite appreciable. DBTs various pro-
together figure out what is best for the industry and ulti- grams like BIG, SBIRI and BIPP, professionally run by
mately what benefits the people. BIRAC, are really encouraging not just the biotechnology
ecosystem, but also innovation. At the same time there
Theramyts core team, comprising Dr Maloy Ghosh, head- are some counter-productive clauses from organizations
ing the R&D as CSO, Dr Sunit Maity, heading product de- like DSIR on benefiting from certain exemptions that a
velopment as VP and Mr Anirban Bhattacharya, CFO and startup needs. It is important for the various departments
CS, was already in place before the company approached of the government to get on the same page and evaluate
VCs for funding. The companys focus on disease areas what is best for the industry.
is driven by application of their technologies and covers
anti-cancer followed by rheumatoid arthritis, metabolic While speaking about public-private partnerships, Ms
diseases and cardio-vascular diseases (CVD). Kavitha optimistically adds, The Biotechnology Industry
Partnership Programme (BIPP) has been a big success. It
Most of the scientists and engineers in our team have is a great way to fund innovation and research for com-
prior experience in niche R&D companies and hold a panies like us. Well be accessing grants through BIPP.
number of patents. Many of them have doctoral and We intend to work with various academic institutions like
post-doctoral qualifica- IIT, NII, & NCL, and leverage some of the expertise they
tion. Unlike our previous already possess.
organization, this time we Biotechnology
are IP driven, adds Ms burns huge capital The future
Rodrigues. According to Ms Rodrigues, Theramyts technical team
for all its R&D and is going to be around 35 people for the next two years
For the next 18 months, has a much longer and scale up to about 50 in four years time. They are cur-
according to Mr Sohang, incubation phase rently 23 in number.
the company will primar-
ily focus on building R&D than classical Our current infrastructure measuring 16,000 sq ft and
platforms, and not seek pharma or most in the process of GLP certification, should be adequate for
any commercial collabo- the next five years. We are on the right track to reach our
ration.
other start-ups. first set of milestones by the end of 2014, says Ms Kavitha.
For young biotech entrepreneurs, Mr Chattergee advises, We want to develop IP from our technology platforms
While building a company, it is important to identify a and generate strong proof of concept data before we ap-
committed core team that covers the various aspects of proach potential collaborators. We also have a defined
business. This must be supported and supplemented by a list of products that we want to develop in to late stage
strong advisory board. At Theramyt, we have shared eq- and look for marketing partners for various geographies,
uity with all members of our core team as well as with our summarized Mr Sohang, who currently coordinates all
scientific advisors. Further, we already have a detailed the business development activities.
ESOP (Employee Stock options) policy for high perform-
ing individuals in the organization. Although a start-up, both the founders are acutely aware
of the need for all-round development of the organiza-
Biotechnology burns huge capital for all its R&D and has tion, and have invested in an extensive human resource
a much longer incubation phase than classical pharma or development as well as organization development pro-
most other start-ups. Not only the founders but also the gram with various partners. Both concur that combin-
investors need to have a deep understanding of the capi- ing empowerment with a collaborative work culture can
tal requirement and develop strict financial discipline in make Theramyt in to a high performing organization
to the operations, emphasized Ms Rodrigues. driven by clearly articulated purpose and core values.
Ms Rodrigues further adds, Today, it is easier for young- The company's name was coined by its scientific advisory
sters to get in to IT and biospace since the ecosystem is board, which is a portmanteau of the words, therapeutic'
a lot more favorable. We have more incubation centers and might'. BS
in the country and the government has invested a lot in
to it. Currently, the governments provision through vari- Raj Gunashekar

Vyome Biosciences
Taking the less

treaded path
A rare combination of an NRI professor, Indian public institute scientist and a
venture capitalist, has resulted in incubation of a first-of-its-kind dermatology
company that reinvents existing molecules
T
he New Delhi-based Vyome Biosciences de-
velops research-based pharmaceutical solu-
tions for skin conditions such as dandruff,
acne, pigmentation disorders and wound
healing. The company was set up in August
2010 by three people with varied roles but
similar interests. They include Dr Shiladitya Sengupta of
Harvard Medical School, Dr Rajesh Gokhale of Institute of
Genomics and Integrative Biology and Mr Rajeev Mantri,
an executive director at early-stage investor Navam Capital.
The company after building infrastructure and a team of

around 25-to-30 scientists, is all set to take off in a big way.
What makes it unique is the presence of Dr R A Mashelkar,
former head of Indias Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) and now president of Global Research
Alliance, a network of publicly funded research and de-
velopment institutes in the Asia Pacific, Europe and the
US. Also for the first time in India, a venture capitalist,
Mr Rajiv Mantri besides funding also chose to cofound a
company. The firm has hired its first chief executive, Mr
N Venkat, a senior executive from the FMCG sector. The
company has expanded its board of directors to include
former banker Ms Ranjana Kumar and management con-
sultant Mr Suvojoy Sengupta.
In November 2010, Vyome Biosciences raised $1 million

from Navam, an early-stage venture capital firm focusing
on investments in cleantech, advanced materials, Internet,
life sciences and other emerging technologies. The compa-
ny later raised $3.35 million from Kalaari Capital, Navam
Capital and Aarin Capital in 2012. Vyome raised `18.50
crore in series A that was led by IndoUS Venture partners.
The work at Vyome has been focused around building a

significant product portfolio and intellectual property Dr Rajesh Gokhale

asset base spanning treatments for a wide range of der- Founders Quotes
matological indications. These will be strategically mon-
etized to maximize value realization through licensing, Dr Shiladitya Sengupta, co-founder of Vyome,
co-development, partnerships and product marketing in said that, We are building Vyome as Indias leading
consumer and pharmaceutical markets. innovation-driven venture, and their considerable ex-
pertise in research, product development, corporate
The company is redesigning the existing approved mol- governance and business management will help us
ecules for other uses through its genetics and nanotech achieve our goal.
tools. The products in pipeline are targeted at diabetic
wound healing and pigmentation, including leucoderma Dr Rajesh Gokhale who plays a role of mentor to
(white patches on the skin). the group of young researchers, gives them new ideas
to work upon, We found out that the dermatophytes
Utilizing the space in two labs in New Delhi, Vyome carries dont make fatty acids and instead release lipases.
out its research and develops products in three categories: Within the next six months, the new innovative prod-
anti-fungal and anti-bacterial treatment; the treatment of uct may be launched after undergoing toxicological
diabetic ulcers; and the treatment of skin pigmentation studies.
disorders. The similar line of products in the derma mar-
ket too is a driver for this research driven company. The Although dissatisfied with the lack of innovation in
young company brings together infrastructure and com- the industry, Dr Gokhale believes that research insti-
petence in synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chem- tutes and private companies through joint efforts can
istry, polymer chemistry and nanotechnology for drug de- play a significant role in changing the scenario. Highly
sign. The specific competency of the company lies in the optimistic about the future, he remarks, There is lot
conjugation chemistry using organism-assisted cleavable of positivity in the country. The next 10 years are ex-
linkers for different lipids and polymers. pected to be a decade of major opportunities for the
biopharma industry.
It also has expertise in micro-sizing and coating active
ingredients through unique methodologies using high dients used for dermatological indications, chemically
pressure homogenization. Leading chromatographic modifying them to deliver better penetration and reten-
techniques are applied to purify and analyse synthesized tion in the epidermis for superior and sustained activity in
product. Vyome has infrastructure to execute complete comparison to existing drugs. Formulation development
chemical characterization using different analytical tech- activities include pre-formulation studies, development
niques, particle size analysis by dynamic light scattering of trial batches, packaging, stability studies, scale up of
and to conduct in house accelerated stability studies. identified batches and preparation for bulk manufactur-
ing. Vyome has invested in state-of-the-art ISO-certified
Vyome has built strong platforms that nail the genomics laboratory infrastructure and has evolved a calibrated ap-
of bugs that cause skin disordershow dermatophytes proach towards formulation development of pre-clinical
survive on human skin. Its analytical development team and clinical stage products. Critical process parameters
works on several known active pharmaceutical ingre- are identified and process optimization studies are carried
out at its labs.
The company is targeting the huge global market for dan-

druff and acne estimated to be more than $20 billion.
What gives it an edge over existing anti-dandruff prod-
ucts is that its products will target the fungus that causes
it while till now the solutions offered are just temporary.
Comparatively, the molecule used by Vyome in shampoos
and oils is nanotechnology-mediated and can be consid-
ered as right step to cure dandruff. The first line of prod-
ucts are in the anti-dandruff space and expected to enter
the market very soon. BS
Dr Shiladitya Sengupta Rahul Koul

Xcode Life Science
Tomorrow will have

its own risks
Founded in 2010 in Chennai, Xcode Life Science is
innovating on health-related big data
Speaking about the companys potential, Dr Saleem Mo-

hammed said, At Xcode, we see ourselves pioneering in
personalized nutrition and medicine space, specifically
for lifestyle related condition. Our long-term vision is to
discover genetic causes of these illnesses that would help
in accurate indication of onset of diabetes, obesity, CVDs,
and stroke. The data that we collect will serve as gold
standard and will be used for R&D to make our predic-
tion models more accurate.
Xcode is currentlyfocusing on areas of imminence. One

such area is pharmacogenomics, which analyzes a per-
sons genetic make-up for reaction to certain drugs. To-
day it is a 16-membered organization, who have expertise
in the field of medicine, nutrition, genetics, bioinformat-
ics, sales and marketing.
Xcode is targeting the drug called Clopidogrel, which is

prescribed to prevent the formation of blood clots in ar-
teries. However, it works on only 70 percent of Indians.
Many times, people are forced to go in for a bypass sur-
gery or have a stent put in place in their arteries because
the Clopidogrel drug did not have an effect on them. With
pharmacogenomics, this can be addressed by either in-
Dr Saleem Mohammed creasing the dosage or changing the drug. Xcode is part-
nering with hospitals and cardiologists for this project,
added Dr Mohammed.
T
he company was founded by Mr R Naray- The company also recently launched Indias first genet-
anan, also known as Naru, serving as the ic-based anti-aging program called Come Alive, which
chairman, and Dr Saleem Mohammed, will provide genetic assessment of aging for individuals.
who serves as the CEO and co-founder Xcode was founded as a one-member start-up and the
of Xcode Life Sciences. Xcodes portfolio initial formation ofthe core team was crucial for the com-
spans across areas including bioinformat- pany. Dr Mohammed explained, We were lucky to have
ics, genetics and nutrition, through which it aims to pro- had an angel investor as a co-founder six months after
mote preventive health practices and lifestyle among its we were incorporated. A challenge most start-ups face is
customers. building the core team. This is a slow process and an im-

portant one. We are constantly on the lookout for team FIVE LEARNINGS OF DR MOHAMMED
members who are innovative in their thinking and who Dr Mohammed exclusively enlists five learnings that
want to make a difference. We are gifted with a team that he encountered in his entrepreneurial journey:
believes in aligned vision and steering towards the lofty People invest in people. Not businesses.
goals we have set for ourselves. It is people, both internally and externally, that
make a business.
Since personalized genomics is still at a nascent stage in
India, itrequired an enormous effort for the company to Creating awareness is critical to success.
raise awareness about it. The initial capital came from Dr Speed is extremely critical in a start-up.
Mohammed and the Department of Science and Technol- Build a team that stands by you, they need to be
ogy (DST, Government of India) in the form of a grant. The believers of your vision.
funding was used to develop the technology to build a pro-
prietary genetic database, SNP panel as well as the algo-
rithm to calculate the risk of diseases. Xcode also received There is an urgent need to foster public-private partner-
angel funding from cofounder Mr R Narayanan as well. ships (PPPs) or other such successful working models of
building infrastructure space. It is the responsibility of
Today, genomic testing is finding importance in both pri- almost every organization directly or indirectly involved
mary (preventive) as well as secondary and tertiary care. in life sciences, relevant NGOs, and government bodies to
Close to 78 percent of Xcodes customers are men, and educate public and medical community on the immense
22 percent are women. About 60 percent hail from South potential of genomic-technology use and research, said
India and the rest from Northern India. According to Dr Dr Mohammed.
Mohammed, the average age of someone who would take
up an assessment is said to be about 41. Xcodes is currently partnering with Naturals, a leading
beauty chain in South India. It has also partnered with
According to Dr Mohammed, pharmacogenomics existed several hospitals in Chennai offeringpersonalized medi-
in the West for the past five years. However, compared cine program. We have collaborated with Sri Ramach-
to the west, in India we attend to health only when we andra Medical College (SRMC) and SRM University as
start seeing symptoms as opposed to being preventive. part of our academic collaboration program to study the
In fact, health checks have gained traction only over the effects of personalized medicine, said Dr Mohammed.
last 10 years. And believe it or not, a simple DNA assess-
ment can be a lifesaving decision. Despite the advantages, Dr Mohammed feels that PPPs should not be a theoretical
there are challenges we face in terms of educating and concept or a vote-winning trick. He added, We would like
raising awareness simply because of how nascent the sci- to see PPPtranslated in real life, in actual practice,and in
ence is, he added. The concept of personalized and pre- the field of genomics. If this were to happen,then we have
ventive healthcare through understanding genetic risk is the capability to establish a National Chronic Lifestyle
in itself is considered new to India. Diseases Prevention Center.
Driving innovation The future outlook

When asked about innovation at Xcode, Dr Mohammed Dr Mohammed also remarked that genomics is going to
opined, We have an open culture and encourage entre- drive the next wave of personalization of medicine, nutri-
preneurship within the company. We give freedom to tion and fitness. He explained, Genomics has the poten-
our team members to take decisions independently. We tial to save lives. Genomic data along with other types of
have a flexible work environment that motivates them to aggregated information such as lifestyle and clinical data
think out-of-the-box. Most of the members of Xcode have can bring about accurate risk predictions.
an interdisciplinary background so they can cross utilize
their experience across different domains. As a final piece of advice for the young blood who want to
take the plunge in the entrepreneurial adventure, Dr Mo-
Unlike other technologies and verticals, genomics is per- hammed concluded by stating, Starting tomorrow will
sonal and India will have a unique footprint compared to always carry its own risks and uncertainties. So if you are
other countries. India has the potential to carve a niche planning for a start-up, do it now. BS
and home-brewn organizations or ideas will have a sig-
nificant role to play in raising the bar. Raj Gunashekar

DSR Geomone Technologies
Bridging the gap

Besides developing indigenous genomic kits, DSR Genome Technologies
offers the lesser available courses with hands on practical training to budding
researchers
E
stablished in 2011 by Professor Subrata Ku- rifying genomic DNA from biological samples like human
mar Dey and Ms Romi Dey, DSR Genome blood both fresh and frozen, buccal cells and tissues in a
Technologies (DSRGT) follows the mission very lesser time. DSRGT has also come up with sex deter-
to create world class R&D facilities in bio- mination kit for rapid detection of sex abnormality and
technology, biomedical sciences and life infertility.
sciences. The Kolkata-based start-up focus-
es on the development of DNA diagnostic kits, diagnostic The company has been approved for its Biotech Indus-
markers, and stem cell-based products and processes. trial Training Programme (BITP) by the Biotech Con-
sortium India Limited (BCIL) promoted by Department
It provides services in specialized areas of biotechnol- of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. Broad
ogy, biomedical sciences, cytogenetics, human genetics, outline of the practical training programme designed in
and undertakes contract research on selective areas of DSRGT is to improve the research skills among students
biomedical sciences. Aiming to bridge the gap between and young researchers. The company offers course in
biotech education and biotech research, DSRGT con- hands-on industrial training in capillary DNA sequencing
ducts regular training and project work in cutting edge and a one-month certificate course on Molecular Labora-
areas of biotechnology. The companys vision is to trans- tory Technology(MLT).
form DSRGT into a Center of Excellence in biomedical
research and to meet the growing demand for trained The R&D section of DSRGT also offers a one-month cer-
manpower in biotech Industry. tificate course on genetic disorders and karyotyping in
collaboration with the Center for Genetic Studies,West
The companys R&D unit has developed DSRGT Genomic Bengal University of Technology. BS
DNA extraction kit (combo)intended for molecular biol-
ogy applications. It is very efficient in extracting and pu- Rahul Koul

inDNA Life Sciences
A DNA clinic
inDna Life Sciences is the first medical clinic in the world established
specifically to equip its patients with the knowledge and tools they need to
ensure their health keeps pace with their potential life span
technology in Bhubaneswar. In late 2013 it has been sup-

ported by the Technology Development Board of Govt of
India and in 2014 it has raised its first money through The
Indus Entrepreneurs Network (TIE), Bhubaneswar.
Commenting on the area of work in progress and potential

of success he elaborated, Our Knowledge of the human
body, our standard of living and the rapid acceleration of
medical breakthroughs across the globe mean that theres
an increasing chance we will liveupto to 100 years. He gave
out details on Genome Health Analysis (GHA) test devel-
oped by a group of scientist under his own leadership. The
test has earned accolades by the worlds medical commu-
The inDNA Life Sciences team nity for its ability to investigate the very building blocks of
our health, DNA. This worlds-first advance in preventa-
A
tive medicine can now give you a glimpse into you future
newly formed company named inDNA health and equip you with the knowledge you need to stay
Life Sciences shaped under the umbrella healthy.
of DrBirendranath Banerjee, has made up
its mind to work in the core area of genom- Divulging deep into the facts and key points he added Re-
ics-education with unaltered enthusiasm. search Shows that if your DNA is damaged, your health can
Dr Banerjee comes with trained expertise suffer. GHA allows you to identify any such damage, put in
in the area of human genetics, DNA damage, telomere bi- place practices to repair your DNA and, in turn improve
ology and disease. His lifes simplemantra has been faith in your health and quality of health. Public Health Genomics
application of science which will lead to make a difference is the use and translation of genome-based knowledge and
in peoples life. Dr Banerjee is currently working as assis- technology to enhance disease prevention and improve
tant professor in the School of Biotechnology, KIIT Uni- population health. This field of science is aimed at achiev-
versity Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. He did his masters ing more effective preventive care and disease treatments
from Ramachandra Medical College, Chennai in Human with better specificity, targeted to the genetic makeup of
Genetics and PhD from Svyasa University and Manipal an individual. It is also a field of study that assess the im-
Hospital, Bangalore in the field of cancer biology. pact of genes and their interaction with behavior, nutrition
and the environment on the populations health.
The firm was founded in the May 2012. However the com-
pany was formally announced and declared open for pub- It will be too early to talk about the presence and its reach
lic servicein the month of Feb 2014, by Nobel Laureate but still company is positive about it. Once they are inde-
(1998) Prof. FaridMurad. pendent they will pitch for the franchise in other states so
as to make the valuable technology for one and all. BS
Since its inception the company has been supported by
KIIT Technology Business incubator at the School of Bio- Monali Ovhal

Jai Health
Victory to health
Jai Health is one of Indias first personalized healthcare
companies, developing technologies for the prevention of
heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases
genetic predisposition to heart disease, affecting people at a

younger age (25 percent of heart attacks are under 40) with
greater severity and higher mortality than the West (Indi-
ans are four times more likely to have a heart attack).
With the discovery of major genetic risk factors over the

past few years, Jai Health has developed its Jai Heart test to
detect this risk and to bring that information together with
the assessment of conventional risk factors.
The companys debut solution is JaiHeart, the first genetic-

test for total heart disease risk developed specifically for the
Indian Ocean region. Jai Heart analyses DNA from saliva
Dr Sanjay K Kakkar, chairman, Jai Health and cheek cells to look for genetic variations associated with
heart disease. This is integrated with the clients medical
B
history and conventional risk factors provided online at the
angalore-based Jai Health develops and com- time of registration. A detailed personalized report is pro-
mercializes preventive health, genomic, mo- duced that estimates the risk of developing heart disease,
lecular diagnostic and personalized medicine highlights individual risk factors, and outlines what the cli-
solutions for India, Asia, the Middle East and ent can do to prevent them.
Africa. It uses proprietary knowledge and
algorithms to produce a detailed personal- According to Dr Kakkar, Starting-up and building Jai
ized report that estimates patients risk of developing dis- Health in India in these past few years have been a tremen-
ease, highlights individual risk factors and specifies lifestyle dous experience. Now that the company is at stage I will be
changes that a person can make in consultation with doctor travelling frequently back to Europe and North America as
along with medical interventions. we explore opportunities for the further development of this
exciting venture.
The company was co-founded in 2011 by persons coming
from very different backgrounds. Co-founders, Dr Sanjay K Jai Health this January announced the results of a ground
Kakkar, current chairman and Mr Ankit Pal, currently vice breaking study demonstrating that Jai Heart is potentially
president of commercial operations, after their quick first better than the Framingham risk score at estimating the
meeting realized a common vision of how advances in pre- risk of heart disease in the Indian population. The study
ventive medicine, molecular biology and information tech- was presented on December 6, at the Cardiological Society
nology could be integrated to deliver innovative personal- of India annual conference in Bangalore as a prime time
ized healthcare solutions for the major disease challenges. oral presentation entitled, Comparison of the Framingham
10 year risk score with a new algorithm (Jai Heart) for the
India is witnessing an epidemic of heart disease with about estimation of coronary heart disease risk. BS
three million deaths per year and with approximately 12
percent of the population affected. Indians have a higher Rahul Koul

Mapmygenome
Genetic Horoscope
at your fingertips
Mapmygenome, which is a year old baby in the strong industry of genomics,
is able to strike cords with customers. It is driving the health industry with the
help of fast changing technology and genetics concepts
W
hen a vision is strong then follow- matics, and genetic counselors.
ing it is not difficult. The Story The advisory panel has expert
of Mapmygenome is entirely a scientists and doctors.
matter of vision to provide better
health for Indians using technolo- Sharing with us the story of
gy. Mapmygenome is Indias pio- Mapmygenome Ms Acharya
neering genomics companyfounded in August 2012. Ms commented, Experts had pre-
Anu Acharya is the CEO and brain behind Mapmygen- dicted the potential of personal
ome India Limited. The company provides a range of genomics a decade ago how
prognostics, diagnostics, and brain wellness solutions. it could change the future of
healthcare. We had genomics
Ms Acharyas profile reflects the success that has been expertise from 12 years of ex-
Ms Anu Acharya, CEO,
beckoned on her following the hard work and the zeal to Mapmygenome pertise with Ocimum Biosolu-
think different. She was named a Young Global Leader tions. The year 2012 seemed to
by the world Economic Forum (WEF) for its class of 2011 be the best time to utilize this knowledge for the better-
and serves on the WEFs global Agenda Council as a ment of healthcare in India. With this vision, we started
member of the Personalized and Precision Medicine. She the company. The first batch of Genomepatri reports
is simultaneously a governing board member at CSIR and were released in January 2013. Since then we have seen
at the National Institute for Biomedical Genomics (NIB- tremendous growth and happy customers. Today, Ge-
MG). Her experience is backed by education at premier nomepatri covers over 100 conditionbs including diseas-
institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology at es, traits, inherited conditions, and drug responses.
Kharagpur, India (IIT) and University of Illinois where
she got two Post Graduate degrees in Physics and MIS. She talked about affordability and how they achieved it.
To enable affordability to people, we started working on
Mapmygenome has a range of personal genomics tests smaller panels Cardiomap for the heart and diabetes,
that include Genomepatri for personal genetic profile; Car- Oncomap for Cancer, and more. Others are in the pro-
diomap genetic test for cancer. These tests assess not only cess of R&D and will be released soon brain, womens
genetic risk for diseases, traits, and conditions, but also re- wellness, and more to add to the list. On the sales front,
sponses to several drugs prescribed for treatment. Counsel- we have an expanding team, brand affiliates to promote
ling services such as genetic counseling and nutrition coun- sales, and tie-ups with hospitals and diagnostic chains.
seling add value to the tests. It also offers kits for detecting Our team of genetic counselors enables our customers to
and typing TB-SMART Tuberculosis kit for RT-PCR and comprehend reports better and take corrective and pre-
Spoligotyping kit for PCR. More kits will be launched for ventive actions. Personal genomics is clearly the present
malaria and other diseases. The team at Hyderabad com- and the future, and we are the pioneers in India. BS
prises biotechnologists, statisticians, geneticists, bioinfor- Monali Ovhal

MedGenome
A molecular genetic
diagnostics lab
MedGenome Labs is a Cochin-based start-up, which was initially incubated at
SciGenom Labs for two years, before being spun out in June 2013
needle in a haystack.
The main challenge was in getting the medical market to

understand the value of genetic tests. Secondly, develop-
ing low-cost tests and a strong bioinformatics team was the
next challenge. The high customs duty on the raw materials
currently still remains a challenge, voiced Dr Ramprasad.
Currently, the company caters to academic translational

research centers, tertiary hospitals, specialty clinics, oncol-
ogists and pharma companies. For young entrepreneurs
who want to set foot in the start-ups circle, Dr Ramprasad
S
Dr Ramprasad & Mr Sam Santhosh
advises, Any start-up needs to ensure that its services and
ciGenom is a genomics company, based in products meet customers needs genuinely by providing
Cochin, which explores and exploits the ad- real value. Then you need to ensure that the company has
vances in genomic technologies to bring sufficient funding and a well-qualified management team.
new services and products for life science
industry. When asked about the companys collaborations, Dr
Ramprasad opines, We are collaborating with key hospi-
Mr Sam Santhosh, the founder of SciGenom tals and translational research centers in India like Tata
and MedGenome has been an entrepreneur, with over 20 Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, Madras Diabetes Re-
years experience in the software industry. Currently, he search Foundation in Chennai, and Narayana Nethralaya
is also the CEO and chairman of SciGenom Labs. Prior in Bangalore to name a few. The company plans to make
to this, Mr Sam was the CEO and MD of California Soft- use of different schemes promoted by the Government
ware Limited (Calsoft) between 1992-2012. MedGenome through DBT.
provides molecular genetic diagnostics using Sanger se-
quencing and next generation sequencing (NGS) tech- Currently, the company is establishing its state-of-the-
nologies for personalized healthcare. art genetic testing laboratory in Bangalore, which is a
sequencing-based, non-invasive, prenatal testing lab for
He adds, The tests will also aid clinicians in screening to the first time in the country. He continues, We are also
predict the risk of developing a specific disease. We also developing a path-breaking somatic mutation software
develop software tools that help clinicians demystify the that helps clinicians guide treatment modalities. In the
genomic data so that they take clinical decisions. Apart next two years, we aim to be one of the best genetic test-
from the Genetic tests that are targeted at one gene and ing services company in this part of the world, concludes
one disease, we can do Whole Exome sequencing and Dr Ramprasad. BS
Whole Genome sequencing, that can sequence hundreds
of genes and MedGenomes expertise is in picking the Raj Gunashekar

Nature Biochem
We are in sync Nature Biochem is a

self funded biotech
with nature
enterprise pursuing its
vision Re-think Green
ganisms cultivated by natural methods, he said.
He also commented on the expertise and experience of the

team. He said, We have positioned ourselves in the tech-
nical expertise and application. At NATBIO, we engage in
continual innovation, flexibility and co-operation with aca-
demic and industrial research scientists means we are able
to meet more needs, complementing our enthusiasm for
improvement.
Nature Biochem is focused on the growth and expansion

of its core business of industrial biotechnology, also known
Mr. Srikanth Vemparala, co-founder and coo and Ms Anupama Bakshi, as white biotechnology, which is the modern use and ap-
founder, Nature Biochem
plication of biotechnology for the sustainable processing
N
and production of chemicals, materials and fuels he added.
ature Biochems (NATBIO) mantra has Moreover he expressed, White biotechnology will be a key
been Putting Nature First. In line with technology contributing to the competitiveness of many
this, NATBIO is striving hard to balance industries. There are great benefits to be realized with the
the sustainability of civilized life without increased use of white biotechnology in industrial applica-
denting nature. They always believed in tions. Air and water pollution could be reduced, energy use
maintaining equilibrium between deliver- lowered, few raw, materials needed, and waste could be di-
ing to the needs of industry and the conservation of nature. minished or substituted by bio-degradable materials. This
technology has the potential to contribute to a more sus-
The companys core area of focus is to provide natural al- tainable future for society as a whole.
ternative solutions which are not expensive to implement.
NATBIO is lead by Mr Srikanth Vemparala, co-founder Elaborating on the application, he added, We operate as
and COO and Ms Anupama Bakshi, founder. The compa- manufacturing company for the supply of industrial en-
ny, which is headquartered in Bangalore, was incepted in zymes, which are, amongst others, natures tools for digest-
the year 2009. Both the founders were part of Biocon with ing materials and catalyzing reactions. Enzymes are already
hands on experience in areas such as product development being applied today in pulp and paper, food processing, tex-
and commercialization of products. Mr Vemparala has ex- tiles and alcohol industry to name a few in the long list of
pertise in sectors ranging from hospitality to biotech indus- applications.
try. Also its interesting to make a note of the fact that NAT-
BIO is a self funded company. We are experiencing constantly growing business in both
domestic and export markets. In addition to head office in
Mr Vemparala briefly explains about the product range Bangalore, we have liaison offices within the country, apart
available with NATBIO. The company is dynamic in nature from local and overseas distribution network. As we contin-
in delivering superior quality biochemicals for an extensive ue to expand our global footprint, in future, we plan to open
range of applications. Its products range from enzymes to offices in Europe and North America, said Ms Bakshi. BS
customized solutions for industrial applications. The prod-
ucts have been derived from natural sources and micro-or- Monali Ovhal

Hot Biotech Startups Lowres

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11 Hot Biotech Start-ups

GANIT labs Others to watch out for

Crystalin Research DSR Geomone Technologies

Invictus Oncology Mapmygenome

Mitra Biotech MedGenome

QTLomics inDNA Life Sciences

Theramyt Novobiologics Nature Biochem

Tergene Biotech Jai Health

Xcode Life Science

ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 25

26 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com

ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 27

Untangling data knots

Chandru, a former professor at Indian Institute of Sciences

Strand initially got in touch with few governments in

28 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com

country but also create human resources needed for the

ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 29

A new fighter in the

In recognition of the innovative activities being carried

The dynamism of Prof Sengupta was well matched with

30 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com

We aspire to be a billion dollar company in next five years

ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 31

Its interesting to sneak into the journey of these found-

32 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com

ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 33

Advice of your network

The name QTLomics is a portmanteau word, derived

According to Dr Raja, the biggest challenge for a start-

34 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com

ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 35

After this victory, Dr Suryanarayanan and the team of

The company was started through investments made by

Dr Suryanarayanan feels that seaweeds have major ad-

36 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Furthermore, Sea6 Energy is also engaged in activities Raj Gunashekar

ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 37

focus was in developing affordable vaccines against infec-

Tergene is developing bio-conjugate platform technolo-

38 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com

Q: What was crucial for you during initial phase?

Q: Which product among the

ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 39

R&D platforms for

we had to think global, by partnering with large multina-

With over $100 billion worth of biologics going off-patent

While biosimilars would account for growth, it would

40 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com

ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 41

Taking the less

The company after building infrastructure and a team of

In November 2010, Vyome Biosciences raised $1 million

The work at Vyome has been focused around building a

42 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com

The company is targeting the huge global market for dan-

Dr Shiladitya Sengupta Rahul Koul

ww.biospectrumindia.com | March 2014 | BioSpectrum 43

Xcode Life Science

Tomorrow will have

Speaking about the companys potential, Dr Saleem Mo-

Xcode is currentlyfocusing on areas of imminence. One

Xcode is targeting the drug called Clopidogrel, which is

44 BioSpectrum | March 2014 | www.biospectrumindia.com