The 10 Most Innovative Bio Tech Solution Providers to Watch in 2020

Volume 01 | Issue 06 | 2020

10 T H E

MOST INNOVATIVE

Dr. Kaushik Deb Founder, CEO, Managing Director

BIOTECH SOLUTION PROVIDERS TO WATCH IN 2020

DiponEd Transforming Treatments to Personalized Cure

The Changing Scenario of Bio Tech have the potential to save millions of lives across the globe.

Editor Rahul Niraj

G

one are the days, when Bio Tech sector was embracing only traditional processes to fight the complexities of the disease.

Today, the sector is moving beyond the 'one disease, one protein, one drug' paradigm by leveraging pipelines showcasing multiple new-age drug modalities. These modalities are an even mix of compound varieties of traditional protein-enabled molecules – enzymes, monoclonal antibodies, hormones, and fusion proteins over a rapidly transforming area of cell therapy and Antibody-drug Conjugates (ADCs).

Currently, the Bio Tech Solution Providers are putting their best foot forward in gaining deep biological insights into tangled diseases. They are consistently endeavouring to surpass every challenge coming their way with sophisticated engineered drugs that

The Bio Tech business professionals are all set to unlock new business opportunities alongside disrupt the healthcare world to stay on top of different regulatory requirements.

Acknowledging the changing dynamics of the society and skyrocketing demands, they are rolling out patient-centric solutions and creating a platform of healthy lifestyles. Besides, it's the right combination of tech-based advancements and agile manufacturing techniques that are taking this sector to be at the helm of 'Progress’ and ‘Innovation’.

Recognizing such professionals that are revolutionizing the Bio Tech Solution Providers’ segment and keeping innovation on their radar by staying up-to-speed with the developments, we have come up with this special edition of “The 10 Most Innovative Bio Tech Solution Providers to Watch in 2020”. This issue has featured a handful of companies offering a diverse and engaging mix of commitment and distinctiveness. It will help you to walk through a list of experts embracing a

EDITOR’s NOTE multi-disciplinary approach and covering a range of relevant issues in its sector.

On the Cover of the issue is DiponEd – an innovative healthcare biotechnology R&D driven company. The company is outshining its competitors with its innovative solutions and redefining the Bio Tech segment.

Apart from such an insightful cover story, we have also enlisted, Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) is a translational research centre catering to the needs of startups in the broad areas of Life Sciences viz., Health Care (MedTech/ Pharma/ Bio-Pharma), Agriculture, Food/Nutrition, Industrial Biotechnology and Environmental Biotechnology, FastSense Diagnostics (FSD) has taken the responsibility to bring in ‘Change’ which the world is looking forward to, Sisco Research Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. (SRL) stands amongst the oldest and most respected manufacturers of specialty fine chemicals, microbiological, nanotechnology and biotechnology reagents, and Transcell Biolife was founded to be a biobank for the intended applications; built on preservation theme and technology translated to apply.

Alongside companies like Catalysts Bio, Clonz Biotech, Cordlife India, Bioxgreen Technology Private Limited and Invitrosense (P) Ltd. have also

been featured in the listing of this edition.

While flipping the pages, take note not to miss out the exclusive interview with team Accurex Biomedical Pvt. Ltd. (ABPL). A CXO named ‘Insights to Choosing the Right IVF Center’ by Dr Ritu Hinduja, Senior Consultant – Reproductive Medicine, Nova IVF, Andheri (Mumbai) will make you go gaga.

Turning some more pages will help you find articles masterly crafted out by our in-house Editors. These articles will help you understand the current market scenario of this industry.

Looking at the emerging opportunities and the growing possibilities, this issue of ours will introduce you to a whole new world of novelty.

So, enjoy the exciting read!

Cover Story

Contents 08 DiponEd Transforming Treatments to Personalized Cure

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Accurex Biomedical Testing Life and Saving Lives

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Articles

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Market Dashboard

Agri Tech

Social Media Marketing for Pharma Industry

Agriculture Biotechnology: Revolutionizing Agriculture Process Globally

Sisco Research Laboratories A Name Synonymous to Quality Reagents and Biochemicals

18 Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre

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Helping Innovative Ideas Hatch

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FastSense Diagnostics The Next-Gen Technology for Swift and Efď€ cient Care

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Transcell Biolife The Next Generation Biobank with Global Outlook

26 Experts Opinion Insights to Choosing the Right IVF Center

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Managing Editor Rahul Niraj Publishing Control Team Shruti, Darshan, Sneha Art & Design Head Amol Kamble Associate Designer Poonam Mahajan Art & Picture Editor Shweta Ambilwade Co-designer Mayur Koli Business Development Manager Megha Mishra Business Development Lead Ashwini Pahurkar Sr. Business Development Executive Snehalata Lad Technical Head Pratiksha Patil Technical Specialist Amar Sawant Digital Marketing Manager Prashant Chevale SME-SMO Executive Uma Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com

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COVER STORY

Dr. Kaushik Deb Founder | CEO | MD

DiponEd TRANSFORMING TREATMENTS TO PERSONALIZED CURE

H “We help various companies through contract manufacturing of Biologicals at our Class 10,000 cleaning room facility”

ealthcare in today’s time has become crucial in terms of accessibility and ease of facilitation. As new diseases are emerging from the nooks and corners of the world, the medical industry with all its dynamism needs to double down to counter such diseases in an effective and efficient manner.

Moreover, to target the specific diseases while diminishing or eliminating its effects, the advent of precision medicine is moving from a niche to a widely accepted method for treatments. Also known as personalized medicine, it is moving closer to be precise, predictable and powerful healthcare

“The world is sitting on a time bomb of pre-cancer and pre-l, l diabetic patients. We need to start programs that provide A to Z solutions”

approach which can be customized for any individual patient.

Even the world’s best doctors and scientists don’t completely comprehend the development of different diseases in people and their response to the respective treatments.

The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to medicine has been implemented by lots of medical and healthcare providers which is based on broad population averages. The traditional practices often misses its mark as each person’s genetic makeup is quite different from other people. This very often, can affect the health of an individual in important ways.

The growing understanding of genetics and genomics is enabling the doctors to provide better disease prevention, accurate diagnosis, safer drug prescriptions and effective treatments for many people. Personalized medicine is playing a vital role in tailoring healthcare to every person's unique genetic makeup. That is the promising idea behind precision/personalized medicine. This approach towards the healthcare services has revolutionized how the medical industry works and have facilitated results that are quintessential for individual patient’s overall development.

DiponEd BioIntelligence is an organization working with such an approach in the Indian healthcare domain. It is an innovative healthcare biotechnology company driven by strong in-house R&D. It offers precision and personalized medicine products, services, and solutions

meeting global standards. The company is developing a point of care biological devices for isolation of stem cells, PRP, Biologicals, Biosimilars, Neo Antigens, and Cellular therapies.

These therapies include Mesenchymal Stem Cells, NK Cell & T cell for cancer, autoimmunity, diabetes, neurological problems, orthopedics, infertility, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, anti-aging, and dermatology, etc. “We focus on developing the nextgeneration bio-intelligent products to address unmet healthcare needs,” says the team of DiponEd. More about DiponEd DiponEd has also developed a range of personalized diagnostics and prognostic tests like liquid biopsies, gut metagenomics, pesticide tolerance, genetic predispositions, stress scoring, 3D printed orthotics- prosthetics modeling, drug overloads, omics of diseases, etc. under its brand Merisis Therapeutics. DiponEd Institute of Regenerative Medicine has been offering education in regenerative medications to clinicians through its hybrid online and hands-on training programs.

The company was started in 2010 with an idea to develop solutions and treatments for unmet medical needs like cancer, nonhealing wounds, burns, muscular dystrophies, autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and T1 diabetes, and several other debilitating conditions like ALS, MS, COPD, ILD, T2 diabetes, etc. The team at DiponEd soon realized that prevention is better than cure for most of these above-mentioned conditions.

Though, integration of preventive,

“Our concepts in personalized treatments are new to the health care ecosystem in India and also in many parts of the world. We are spending a lot of time and effort in creating awareness” predictive, participatory, and personalized medicine is required to reach from ‘treatment to cure’. This could prove to be a major diversion for current health care treatment business models.

“We then started working on developing products and services like predictive and prognostic genetic and molecular tests for suspects or patients, and also personalized therapeutics,” states DiponEd's team.

The company is currently integrating many in-house technologies as well as some foreign service providers to make an entire ecosystem to develop a personalized cure for various diseases.

DiponEd-CRS (Contract Research Services) is a wing of the company, providing an R&D ecosystem with a team of highly experienced and qualified scientists. The wing acts as a supporting facility for many international Bio-Pharma companies.

This division offers its services in the domains of integrated drug discovery of small molecules in the areas of insilico modeling, PK-PD modeling, and system biology. These services also facilitate ADME, toxicology, preclinical optimization, in vitro biology and (Enzyme assays, Cell-based assays, Ligand binding assays, GPCR, ELISA) in vivo biology, etc. DiponEd also provides services in the domain of

Molecular biology, immunogenicity assays, formulation development and Regulatory Assistance for the Indian FDA. DiponEd CRS is an official empanelled partner to Andhra Pradesh Medical Tech Zone (AMTZ), Kalam Institute of Health Technology, for medical devices and regulatory support.

Versatile Offerings, Simplified Services The power of biotechnology and biomedical engineering has helped the company’s R&D team to design multiple programs targeting cellular biologicals, stem cell transplantation & processing protocols, developing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and cellular therapies. “We design and create biomaterials using our proprietary 3D printing technology and 3D tissue engineering,” states the team of DiponEd. The company's focus is on current personalized medicine which includes genetic predispositions, mutation detection, cancer-integrated therapies, pharmacogenomics-based drug response tests, anti-aging, stem cells transplantations in blood-related disorders, biomaterials, 3D reconstructions, orthotics, radiation, chemoprotection, personalization, skin and hair treatments, infertility and healthcare products.

DiponEd provides new devices and technologies along with the solutions which are developed in-house and are at feasible costs, usually at a fraction of the costs from the US or Chinese. The firm is also integrating all the services under one roof to emerge as a one-stop solution provider for personalized medicine services. The company is also contributing towards the corporate social responsibility cause through its primary health care initiatives at rural/semi-rural townships. Especially, in the areas of diabetic foot ulcers and pain management curated for the unprivileged section of the society.

Remarkable Footprints DiponEd emerged as Elevate 100 Award Winner, 2017. It was also selected as the Emerging Leader in the Medical Devices industry in India, for Merisis Therapeutics point of care kits presented at THE HEALTHCAREPHARMA & MEDICAL DEVICES SUMMIT & EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2017 on 4th August 2017 at St. Regis, Mumbai. The firm received Karnataka State's quality leadership award, by the World Quality Congress & Awards in 2019.

Under the leadership of Dr. Kaushik Deb, Founder, CEO, and Managing Director of DiponEd – the company has developed more than 30 patented products and services. It is

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“Our vision is to address unmet medical and healthcare needs across the globe through innovation, science, and modern technologies”

collaborating with more than 20 international and National labs and education institutions to develop its unique line of therapeutics. He also established the DiponEd Institute of Regenerative Medicine (DIRM), offering Certificate Course in Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) and Fellow Program in Regenerative Clinical Medicine (FRCM) with the DDM university.

He is the Director of Indian association of laser therapies (IALT), and Secretary, Society of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (India). He has done M.Sc, MD (IM), Ph.D., Post Doc Associate (USA, Canada), EGMP (IIM-B) and FRHS. He has been awarded the Govt of India DBT's, Overseas Bilateral exchange Associateship with Ottawa General Hospital, and the Indian National Academy of Sciences (INSA)- bilateral exchange award with the Czech Science Academy. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed

research papers, abstracts, and book chapters, and is also an active reviewer for 4 international journals and editorial board member for 5 international journals. He has authored the book entitled ‘Stem Cells; Basic and Applications’ published by McGraw Hill New Delhi and ‘Stem cell Technologies’ by McGraw Hill, New Jersey, USA. Dr. Kaushik has developed/ patented platform technologies for personal health care and personalized therapies in cancer, radiation, hair and skin regeneration, Oestochondral defects, organ-specific aging, age-associated conditions, diabetics AMR, 3D tissue engineering, etc.

Dr. Kaushik has been awarded the Govt of India DBT’s, Overseas Bilateral exchange Associateship with Ottawa General Hospital, and the Indian National Academy of Sciences (INSA)- bilateral exchange award with the Czech Science Academy. He has also been honored with MED ACHIEVERS ICON AWARD for his work in the field of Healthcare. He and his team are developing 3D bioprinting and 3D printing services, under the 'Uchhattar Avishkar Yojana' award, supported by the Ministry of Health Government of India.

DiponEd is setting up novel Artificial

intelligence platforms P4M Cure Clinic and apps, and new algorithms are being derived to learn about healthcare and diseases. All of this while creating integrated clinical data for Predictive, Preventive, Participatory and Personalized medicine, in collaboration with hospitals globally. The R&D team is working on several unique aspects of modern health care challenges like Drug interactions in patients, Drug overloads, Chemosensitivity, Liquid biopsies, Genomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics, Molecular and Genetic diagnostics, and Prognostics, cellular biological APIs, therapeutic devices (Merisis Therapeutics). It is also creating other personalized products in cancer, nephrology, podiatry, DFUs, burns, sports injuries, orthopedics, dermatology, etc.

“We are a bio-intelligent solutions company with a focus on unique formulations and solutions. All our health care products are derived out of in house R&D using data mining, lab tests, artificial intelligence applications, and advanced biotechnology. We strive to be faster, better and cheaper from any other products and services company,” concludes Dr. Kaushik.

ACCUREX

BIOMEDICAL TESTING LIFE AND SAVING LIVES

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he world of In Vitro Diagnostic Device (IVD) is taking the centre stage with existing and budding players disrupting and creating their own pathway. Contributing to this journey is Accurex Biomedical Pvt. Ltd. (ABPL) that is unlocking countless opportunities for the betterment of the masses by offering novel medical diagnostic solutions. The below excerpt is an exclusive interview with team ABPL showcasing their distinctiveness and curated acumen which helps them in being ahead of others.

IS: Share some insights about your company, its inception story and the vision behind.

Team ABPL: In 1984 almost 100% of the diagnostic reagents were imported into India. Mr A.J. Thakur founded Accurex in 1984 to indigenise the manufacturing of imported reagents in India.

Accurex was the first company in India to manufacture urine test strips and enzymatic clinical chemistry reagents in India. This was the beginning of the IVD clinical chemistry reagents manufacturing industry of India.

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The journey of Accurex since 1984 has been on a growth trajectory. With the continuous launch of innovative products, Accurex has created a brand name in the Indian IVD Industry.

IS: What your products & services' ambit hold?

Team ABPL: In the laboratory diagnostics space Accurex offers the entire range of clinical chemistry and haematology reagents. In Instruments, we offer semi-automated, fully automated clinical chemistry, 3 part and 5 part haematology analysers. We also offer urinalysis test strips, urinalysis meters and immunology rapid tests.

In the Point Of Care (POC) segment we offer blood glucose meters, haemoglobin meters, HbA1c meters, immunofluorescence meters, uric acid meters and respective test strips.

IS: With regards to your organization’s profound industry experience, how do you think the diagnostic industry and market have evolved and what can be expected in the forthcoming years?

Team ABPL: The diagnostics industry is getting disrupted by point

of care (POC) testing. Point-of-care testing (POCT), or bedside testing is defined as medical diagnostic testing at or near the point of care—that is, at the time and place of patient care.

This contrasts with the historical pattern in which testing was wholly or mostly confined to the medical laboratory, which entailed sending off specimens away from the point of care and then waiting hours or days to learn the results, during which time care must continue without the desired information. POC testing is getting popular in the medical diagnostic industry. Through POC testing the lab tests are available at the doctors and patients at home.

This is convenient for the patient.

Accurex has launched a complete range of POC products to ensure faster and convenient testing.

IS: What are the benefits gained by your clients/users from your products/solutions/services?

Team ABPL: Diagnostics affects 70% of medical decision and in only 3% of the healthcare costs. There is a dire need in India to reduce the everincreasing cost of health care and diagnostics plays a pivotal role in the efficient use of resources.

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Mr. Abhinav Thakur Managing Director

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Interview With Insights Success

India is till date dependent on imports for its IVD needs with almost 80% of IVDs are being imported. The cost of manufacturing in the developed world is many times higher than the cost of manufacturing in India consequently by manufacturing indigenous products Accurex lowers the healthcare costs in India.

By using preventive diagnostics effectively we can prevent diseases in advance and significantly lower the cost of health care in India.

Its an honour for Accurex to contribute to the reduction of healthcare cost to patients and ultimately to our country.

IS: Tell us about Mr Abhinav and his contribution to the company and its success.

Team ABPL: Mr Abhinav Thakur was studying in the USA when, unfortunately, his father passed away prematurely. He came back to India to run the company for his family. At that point of time the motivation for him was survival of the family business.

Now the motivation for him is to grow the company so he can have an impact on the healthcare industry by manufacturing affordable and highquality medical diagnostic products.

Since his appointment as Managing Director, APPL has grown 4.2 times in revenue and our team size has

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increased from 90 to 170 individuals.

We have moved from a diagnostic reagent company to diagnostics reagents and instruments company.

IS: What does the future hold for your organization in terms of internal as well as holistic development?

IS: In what ways does your organization contribute towards the Corporate Social Responsibility cause?

Team ABPL: Now the motivation for Mr Abhinav is to grow the company so he can have an impact on the economic development of our country. He strongly believes that economic development is the antidote of poverty.

Team ABPL: We at Accurex believe wealth creation leads to wealth distribution. So, it’s our endeavour to create prosperity so we can contribute towards the economic development of India.

The next major milestone for him in this decade will be getting Accurex listed on the stock exchange.

IS: What obstacles and/or limitation does your organization face while growing, sustaining or retaining its clientele?

IS: Would you like to highlight any awards, accolades or testimonials your company has achieved throughout?

Team ABPL: The diagnostics industry is capital intensive because the business model in our industry is moving towards analysers being placed on reagent rentals. To place analysers on reagent rental we need a large capital investment. This is the challenge we face in our industry.

Team ABPL: Over the years we have achieved various awards and recognitions such as

IS: Could you list out the most growth-deteriorating challenges for your organization till date?

Team ABPL: Service is key in the diagnostics industry. The analysers need a fast turn around time (TAT) in case of breakdown. Providing service in a large geographical country like India with underdeveloped infrastructure is a challenge.

• Ranked #10 in BioSpectrum Top 20 Indigenous Medical Devices & Diagnostics Companies 2019 Survey • Selected as “Visionary leader in Healthcare 2017” by Medgate Magazine • Ranked at number 19 BIOTECH companies ranking by Biospectrum Magazine analysis done by KPMG • Altina Entrepreneurs Excellence Award,2017 in the healthcare category • India’s most Innovative and Valuable Medical Devices Company 2017

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Bangalore Bioinnovation

Centre Helping Innovative Ideas Hatch

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hile everyone speaks about how innovations are changing the face of the world, few talk about the research that goes behind it. What we are currently enjoying as the latest technology or an innovative marvel, might have actually taken years or may be decades of research to develop into its current form. As such, it is crucial that research companies, especially start-ups, be given a conducive environment where they can flourish to help mankind.

Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) is one translational research centre catering to the needs of startups in the broad areas of Life Sciences viz., Health Care (MedTech/ Pharma/ Bio-Pharma), Agriculture, Food/Nutrition, Industrial Biotechnology and Environmental Biotechnology. BBC is an initiative of Department of IT, BT and S&T, Government of

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Karnataka with funding support from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. The centre is located in Bangalore Helix Biotechnology Park at Electronic city, and thrives between academic institutions like Institute of Biotechnology and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Centre for Human Genetics (CHG). The centre started functioning since April 2015 and has currently 38 startups being physically incubated and 7 graduated companies. BBC is envisioned to nurture bio-startups ecosystem and catalyse it's growth to benefit the society at large and contribute to bio-economy. As a not for profit company and relationship builder, BBC supports quality programs and trainings that ensure strategic and progressive growth of innovation and entrepreneurship in Life Science.

Recently BBC received the Award for being finalist in National Entrepreneurship Award National Centre for Excellence conferred by

Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka, Shri Vijay Bhaskar T M, IAS Nurturing Start-ups Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre provide services such as Infrastructure/ Equipments, networking, branding, funding and mentoring to startups in the field of Healthcare, Agriculture, Food/Nutrition, Industrial Biotechnology and Environmental Biotechnology. These startups utilize the facilities to conduct R&D and translate them into products. Many of the incubatees have commercialised their products based on technologies like Artificial Intelligence for diagnostic purpose, Point of care devices, Non- invasive testing devices, Customisable 3D printer, 3D printed skin, kits for diagnosis and Prosthetic foot. Some of the startups involved in developing breakthrough products are as detailed below.

OmiX Labs(OmiX) developed “The OmiX Technology Platform” designed to look at gene signatures for Antimicrobial resistance. They are also providing services pertaining to unitized room-temperature stable kits and automated assay setup.

Pandorum Technologies Private Limited (PTPL) is engaged in development of Bio-Engineered Human Cornea that can be used as Platform for in vitro toxicology and safety assessment and Lab Grown Mini Liver that can be used as Platform for pre-clinical drug discovery and development.

Innov4sight Health and Biomedical Systems Private Ltd. is working on a

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breakthrough products that have gained recognition and award from established companies like Merck from Germany.

Enriching Mankind

Dr Jitendra Kumar Managing Director

device to simulate fertility factors called “FERTIMULATOR”. They are also conducting research on Biologically Activated Peptide Concentrate (BAPC) used for fertility factors regeneration.

Next Big Innovations Lab (NBIL) a startup involved in development of Innoskin®, a 3D Bioprinted Human Skin and “TRIVIMA”, NBIL’s 3D Bioprinter. These are innovative

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“Insights Put Into Action”

The incubatees, both current and graduated, over time have developed products that are now helping companies and end-customers in several ways. Here are some products that are making a marked difference: Innov4sight Health and Biomedical Systems Private Ltd. came up with two technologies in the field of fertility treatment. One is FERTIMULATOR, a simulator machine and one of the prime products of Innov4Sight which is covering simulation for fertility specialists and embryologists to simulate Oocyte Retrieval (OR), Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), and In Vitro FertilizationEmbryo Transfer (IVF-ET). The newer version of FERTIMULATOR is incorporated with Regenerative Medicine (RM) services that is intended to help IVF experts in treating endometrial deficiency, one of the key factors causing infertility.

Next is the BAPC as mentioned earlier, which is used for endometrial regeneration. The future prospects of this medicine is treatment of infertility in women to induce ovarian regeneration and oocyte production.

OmiX’s portfolio of products and services aim to create impact on millions of lives. They offer a

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platform for early detection and more accurate identification of organisms causing infections. At the same time, they are also determining whether the infection is potentially drug resistant. OmiX Labs can conduct drug resistant tests in only three hours, whereas conventional tests require a minimum of three days in laboratories equipped with microbiology facilities.

PTPL’s two breakthrough technologies include Bio-inspired Corneal ‘ink’ that can be used as ‘Liquid Cornea’ for therapeutic application and to ‘print’ Corneal lenticule for human implantation for treating visual impairment due to corneal defect. This has a social impact as this will restore the sight of many people with corneal defect. The other invention is mini liver platform (normal and diseased models) which will be used in pre-clinical drug screening (discovery and development) by the pharmaceutical industries/CRO’s. This model will significantly reduce the cost and time of new drug discovery resulting in affordable drugs available to the patients.

NBIL has focussed their research on finding alternative for testing of products on animals, which is currently banned and restricted. The current gold standard testing alternative, 3D cultured skin, is priced extremely high and has inconsistency from batch to batch. This has motivated the startup to develop Innoskin®, an economical and consistent product. Added to their portfolio is NBIL's patented 3D Bioprinting technology which allows positioning of cells with micron level precision, thereby enhancing cell-to-cell interaction within the tissue construct and reducing the chances of batch-wise inconsistency.

An Experienced Motivator Dr Jitendra Kumar, Managing Director, holds a PhD in Biotechnology from Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, a prestigious national laboratory affiliated to Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi. Subsequently, he moved to University of Illinois at Chicago, where he worked on Leukemia. In the next stint as a Post Doc at Ohio State University, Columbus OHIO (USA) he worked on various cutting edge research projects. He is the author on several internationally acclaimed peer reviewed papers. He holds an MBA degree from prestigious Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University. After returning from

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US, he joined as a Vice- President of Life Science Incubator at IKP Knowledge Park, Hyderabad where he was involved in actively mentoring Incubatee companies and creating pipeline of entrepreneurs through innovative models of team building around the technologies. As the Director & Head of BBC his current focus is on Incubating Innovations is Agriculture, Food and Nutrition, Biofuel/Bio-energy and Pharma/Healthcare. He is working closely with Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services (KBITS), Department of IT, BT and S&T, Govt of Karnataka, to create a vibrant Life Sciences Innovation cluster in Bangalore.

Helping Start-ups Grow The startups at BBC are focussed primarily on delivering solutions to problems prevailing in the biotech market.

The areas of research bridges the gap in technologies and hence offer competitive products to meet the demands of the market. This approach has fetched the startups competency in market. The key impediment for the startups to grow is the non-availability of funding. BBC facilitates government funding called “SEED FUND” for development of innovative ideas, incubation, entrepreneurship thereby creating a bio-cluster working in synergy with ecosystem partners like other similarminded startups, SMEs, industry, investors, government organizations, policy think tanks and business organizations. This paves opportunities for networking to progress in their research and development. However, the main challenge faced by these startups during translation of research into products in market is the requirement of substantial investment. This stymie the growth and vision of startups and many fall into the “valley of death”.

Positive Vibes for the Future BBC is mandated to nurture start-ups working in the broad areas of Life sciences with an aim to improve the quality, efficacy and sustainability of healthcare, agriculture, industrial & environmental biotechnology products. A holistic development can be achieved only when diversity and inclusivity is embedded in startups from the beginning to bring out inter-disciplinary innovations. BBC is fostering such a holistic growth among the startups through interaction and learning and for the greater benefit of society.

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Market Dashboard

Social Media

Marketing for

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he absence of pharma brands on social media creates a significant void of reputable healthcare information to aid patients,” writes Dawn Lacallade, LiveWorld’s Chief Social Strategist.

Social media infiltrate virtually every facet of an individual’s digital life. Today, patients are using social media as a major source of information and healthcare research. Thus, it is essential that pharma companies should be present on social media to provide full and accurate information to the consumers. To comprehend how social media can assist patients, it is crucial to understand what compels people to use social media as a source of information.

Social media allows interaction among people which involves exchange and creation of information. It is the perfect conduit for pharmaceutical companies to connect with their customers, patients and physicians.

According to the current FDA regulations, pharma companies are not able to easily join in a conversation to provide accurate and balanced information. Regulations dictate that, in a single social post, brands are required to provide precise facts on the benefits and hazards associated with conditions and products. Due to the character limitations on many social media platforms, most pharma companies prefer to stay out of the conversation. This results in circulation of falsified information.

This information can be either marginally inaccurate or significantly harmful.

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Although the communication of pharmaceutical industries is highly regulated, they are gradually adopting social media platforms to reach and interact with consumers and healthcare professionals. Here are some of the top social media practices to look out for: Crafting Customer Experience Several marketers think that their job is finished once the sales team takes over, but in reality, it is just the beginning. The way people experience your brand will impact the way they think about you, which will have an enormous effect on the success of your company in the long run. Devoting a part of the marketing budget to nurture the existing clientele will make their experience splendid and thus promote brand loyalty. It is also crucial to respond whenever your brand in mentioned publicly, whether positively or negatively, which will help cultivate a strong and lasting relationship with your customers.

Younger generations are increasingly withdrawing from traditional social media platforms and adopting more innovative channels that are more intimate in the way of communication. To keep up with this challenge, companies need to find a way to automate the process wherever possible.

Regulating Content Pharma companies need to develop content marketing strategies that merge each piece of content on every channel with their organization’s objectives and customers’ needs. Creators need to have a clear business objective including the value that will be delivered to distinct audiences. All companies need to have a social media compliance officer who will work closely with a corporate legal counsel and develop a complete strategy and decide if there will be consolidated social media posting or if individual employees will have the consent to participate. And lastly, it is critical that all employees understand their role in corporate social media and be trained on the rules.

Overall Integration Pharma companies should stop thinking about content marketing and social media as add-ons. To boost their outcome for clients, content and social marketing need to be a part of almost every program. To develop a fully integrated program, companies need to involve influencers and content marketers during the initial stages. Implementing an organized approach to content and moderation will not only optimize the processes, but also aid in assuring authorities that all the bases are covered to protect and provide value for the brand.

Investing in Employees An independent survey discovered that 72% of social media users expect response within an hour from the brands they follow. This has caused brands to start heavily investing in crossfunctional social media teams that can keep up with the increasing number of client pings

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every day. Encouraging and incentivizing team members to share brand messages on their own social media accounts, is predicted to be a game-changer in the coming days. However this cannot be forced, it is essential for employees to want to share company posts, and along with this the content has to resonate with their own audiences.

Influencer Marketing Influencer marketing will continue to develop and become an even more established part of the strategy. Currently many brands try influencer marketing and fail as it is not easy to find effective influencers. Additional data will help in selection of the right influencers and analyze the results from influencer campaigns. Today, in healthcare, influencers are often regular people. Some are directly affected by a disease or are being treated with a specific product, while others have gained a lot of knowledge about a condition and are considered as Subject Matter Experts. The common trend is to select someone who has an ever-increasing community of followers who value their opinion.

Numerous companies still think of social media as merely a marketing tool which is not true anymore. Consumers learn about products on different social networks and seek customer service on messaging channels. Moreover, good storytelling has always been an essential part of effective marketing. But social media is changing the way audiences consume stories and pharma companies will be required to keep up with the evolution of social storytelling if they want to remain relevant.

Yet there is still a note of caution with compliance being the foremost priority of pharmaceutical companies. But as industries are starting to adopt social media without clear regulatory guidance, remaining compliant will be the main challenge to face.

S NES G I S BU ETIN K R MA

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January 2020|

Insights to Choosing the Right IVF Center About The Author

Dr Ritu Hinduja Senior Consultant – Reproductive Medicine, Nova IVF, Andheri (Mumbai) 26

Dr Ritu Hinduja is an MD, MRM (UK), and DRM (Germany) who has completed her Fellowship in Reproductive Medicine (India, Spain, Israel). She is a certified Genetic Counsellor and a wellknown medical practitioner. Dr Ritu specializes in Reproductive medicine and Infertility treatment and has an experience of more than a decade for the same. For her dedication and contribution, she has been honoured with various prominent awards like FOGSI Chorion Award for Best Research, FOGSIKumud Tamaskar Award for Best Research in Infertility, and FOGSIDr Shanti Yadav Award for Infertility, to name a few.

January 2020|

Experts Opinion

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eproductive medicine is an ever advancing field of medicine which provides a ray hope for couples who are battling infertility.

IVF is usually effective, though not always immediately for all women, research suggests that if you’re considering assisted reproductive technologies to help you conceive, it is suggested that you chose your fertility clinic well and that can improve your odds of a good outcome. But with so many clinics out there to choose from deciding which one best meets your needs can feel a bit overwhelming. You can use the following pointers to help you chose a clinic that meets your needs.

Do Some Research All fertility clinic may apparently look the same, but they are not, and it does not hurt to do your homework. You may want to consider enquiring about the success rate of the clinic. While enquiring about the success rates it is advisable to compare oranges to oranges so compare the success rates for your age group and also the kind of treatment that you plan to do. Once you are convinced about the success rates it's a good idea to have a look at their accreditations you can either look for ISO, ISAR or a NABH accreditation in the Indian subcontinent. Also make sure that the clinic is registered with the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) Ask Questions Before you commit to an IVF clinic its always best to ask all the questions that come to mind even if you think they are silly. It’s your treatment and you need to be at peace at what you are proceeding with and it’s your right to know every pro and con about the treatment or any other query that may come to mind. Some of the questions you may consider asking:

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• The process of IVF per se • How many embryos do they transfer?

• What is their embryo freezing program like? What is their contract time period? What will be renewal clause be?

• Do they prefer a day 3 or a day 5 transfer?

• The technique of fertilization --ICSI for all or IVF for selected cases?

• Do they have an identification system in place for the Gametes?

• How are donors screened and allotted?

• Will you need genetic screening?

• Will you need sperm selection techniques?

• What will happen when you get pregnant? who will you follow up with?

• What will happen if you don’t get pregnant?

• If attempting genetic screening – you may want to ask which lab they are associated with for the analysis?

• Do they have an in house full time andrologist and embryologist?

• Is it an all under one roof facility?

Find out if they have a Psychological Counsellor or a Patient-support Group It's important for a fertility clinic to offer indicated medical treatment to help you conceive but it’s also important that there is enough emotional support available while you are embarking on one of the most emotional journeys of your life. Also, if the sessions with the psychologist are chargeable or are free of cost.

Consider the Monitory Factors Always take your financial counselling in written from the clinic. Consider have they given you all the inclusion and exclusion criterion’s in written.

The inclusion criteria you may want to look for are gonadotropins, blastocyst transfer and luteal support medicine till Bhcg. Always gauge how transparent

they are attempting to be in their pricing.

Trust your Instincts When you’re considering a fertility clinic, always trust your gut feeling. I think patients’ gut feelings are usually pretty good. Life’s most precious commodities are your gametes and hence any decision you take regarding them has to be carefully contemplated hence it is important that you get a feel of the people who are going to be handling your gametes. Consider the professionalism of the staff of the clinic and how they treat you , pay attention to what they say to you and how professional and genuine does their care feel to you and does their care make you feel comfortable and at ease or do you feel rushed or ignored.

If Applicable to you may want to find out more about the Special Program the Center has • Who is the andrologist attached with the center if you are going to need testicular sperm extraction?

• If you are looking for social fertility preservation: then you may want to know about their oocyte freezing facilities. Find out how many times you may need to do egg retrievals to freeze the optimal number of oocytes. What is the payment structure? How long will the oocytes be cryopreserved according to the initial contract; how will the renewal clauses be.

• Fertility preservation program for cancer patients.

Even after all the above pointers only you can know which clinic suits you best and always remember A great fertility clinic isn’t just one that can give you effective treatment, it is the one with staff that is compassionate, has transparent and clear financial counselling, smooth administrative processes and a system in place for exceptional emotional support.

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Sisco Research Laboratories:

A Name Synonymous to Quality Reagents and Biochemicals

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he Indian Biochemical sector is initiating breakthrough enactments and is laying the foundation of a stronger growth trajectory. With this immense growth potential, the sector will continue to play a pivotal role as an innovative manufacturing hub and unlock countless opportunities for today and tomorrow.

Acknowledging this scenario, organized manufactures are offering exclusive solutions for the betterment of the economy alongside delivering quality to the core.

Founded in 1975, Sisco Research Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. (SRL) is one such organization that stands amongst the oldest and most respected manufacturers of specialty fine chemicals, microbiological, nanotechnology and biotechnology reagents. It's an ISO 9001-2015, CGMP, FDA, and CE certified organization that employs about 300 personnel to manufacture. Headquartered in Mumbai, SRL effectively services the needs of scientists, researchers, quality control managers of industries, researchers of institutions and academic bodies.

Today, the company stands amongst the five leading Reagents and Biochemicals providing companies in India.

It's patronized by various National Laboratories, CSIR, ICMR, ICAR, DRDO, IITs, NITs, NISER institutes and National Universities thereby, leading to accreditation and acceptance by the multinationals, Indian manufacturers and even overseas buyers.

Apart from all this, SRL also makes its modest contributions towards various CSR activities.

The Success Story Mr S. K. Agarwal laid the foundation of SRL way back in 1975 when India's premier Research institutes and academic bodies such as Universities and Colleges were

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relying wholly on imported reagents and chemicals. Being the Managing Director, his sole aim was and is to contribute to this ever-increasing ocean of scientific research and learning in the country.

At that point in time, he faced a plethora of challenges concerning designing, production & testing methodologies, capital, operations, and staff training. Making staff understand the importance of high-quality testing and manufacturing standards was not an easy task for the company. Also, customers preferred to import chemicals from the leading companies in the world rather than embracing Indian products.

Keeping up with times and acknowledging these trends, Mr Agarwal embarked on a journey of manufacturing speciality chemicals and reagents at par international quality in India. With the passage of time, his curated acumen and consistent efforts successfully carved out affordable pricing strategies that have the potential to satisfy the needs of the customers with limited financial grants.

Currently, his leadership is helping the company in contributing to the growth of scientific research in India.

The young dynamic Directors - Mr. Akash Agarwal and Mr. Vikas Agarwal (Grandsons of Mr. S.K. Agarwal) have taken the SRL's visions and goals to a broader and higher mission. Their education, experience and leadership is enabling the company to penetrate many new markets (Pharma, FMCG, Cosmetics & R&D etc.) and reaching to every corner of the world. They are also upgrading and upscaling the product range of the company by introducing newer reagents in the field of diagnostics, nano-technology, molecular biology and PCR related reagents.

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Mr Akash Agarwal Director

in 2019

Meet the Cornerstones Mr Ramesh Agarwal, Director and son of Mr Agarwal is associated with the company since last four decades and has been especially credited with the procurement of raw materials for the company with his business acumen in bulk chemical industry.

Mr Akash Agarwal and Mr Vikas Agarwal, the young Directors of the family-owned company have introduced many verticals of management at the head office. While Mr Akash has completed his Chemical Engineering and MBA from USA, Mr Vikas has done his Post Graduation in Commerce and MBA from UK. They have been driving digitalization and computerization in operations at all levels for faster growth within India and overseas.

Mr Vikas Agarwal Director

A biochemist devoted to R&D, Late Dr M. R. Raikar pioneered the development of various reagents under the leadership and guidance of Mr Agarwal. His knowledge and experience assisted the company in launching its first manufacturing unit in Kashimira in Mumbai.

A Reader in Mumbai University and a devoted student of Organic Chemistry, Late Dr Pandit had been instrumental in establishing the second manufacturing unit in MIDC, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai.

The Corporate Quality Control Manager of the company who heads the quality control department at the MIDC, Taloja factory has been accredited with the development and modifications of analytical methods of hundreds of biochemicals, reagents, and solvents.

A versatile manufacturing microbiologist, who Heads the Microbiology Division of the company is helpful in

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‘‘

We ensure that the products we manufacture give the desired consistent results batch-after-batch “The Company vision is “ to serve the endless process of science

‘‘

The Corporate R&D and Production Manager of the company who stands amongst the proficient R&D scientists having experience in UK, US, and MNC pharma companies has led the team of chemists at Turbhe factory to effectively synthesize highly purified reagents, phase transfer catalysts, and specialized solvents thereby adding to the growth of the company.

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developing a new production department of dehydrated culture media, playing a pivotal role in catering to health care, environmental, and microbiological quality control.

Mr S. K. Agarwal MD

The Chief Accountant has been aptly instrumental in handling the financial and accounting management of the company.

The Regulatory Personnel has been instrumental in introducing several regulatory systems like ISO, CE, GMP, and VQs to meet the industry’s and government’s mandatory requirements.

Rewards & Recognitions Mr S.K. Agarwal was awarded the ‘Indian Achievers Award' in 2014 for Industry Development in the field of CSR and Sustainable Development.

A renowned media company Bio Spectrum recognized SRL amongst the ‘20 Top Biotechnology Companies’. It had also published a profile of Mr Agarwal, as a leader in the field of biotechnology-related reagents in the country in the year 2013.

Mr Ramesh Agarwal Director

In 2010, he was felicitated by ISGF / AISG in recognition of his contribution to Scout and Guide Fellowship during the past 50 years in India. He was also a member of the ISGF World Committee from 1993 to 1999.

He has attended & successfully completed MIT Management Executive Education (Leading Organisations and Change) in 2018 from EMERITUS institute of management, US. Outperforming Own Milestones SRL manufactures and provides more than 6000 products across 15000 Stock Keeping Units (SKU’s). Its product menu includes Organic & Inorganic reagents, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology reagents, Nanotechnology products, Microbiology dehydrated culture media and PCR reagents.

The company’s products are quenching the needs of various industries like Pharma, FMCG, Cosmetics, etc. Companies embrace these products for their R&D and pilot-scale & bulk production. However, the introduction of newer range of diagnostic reagents has created a shift in the buyers’ preference for SRL products alongside gaining the advantage of economical prices and promoting availability.

With the expansion of its export business in the Indian subcontinent, Far-east, Europe and the US, SRL is all set to observe growth rates in excess of 30%-40% on year-to-year in the next 5 years.

Explore more on srlchem.com

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January 2020|

Transcell Biolife The Next Generation Biobank with Global Outlook

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iobanking is going to be the new world order to provide first-in-class transformative medicine replacing hospitals and based medical, healthcare institutions. As far as the bio-samples are considered, storing for applications will evolve to become a blue-chip industry. Biobank derivatives put to applications are forecast to be pegged at 500 billion global market opportunity covering big data in genomics, drug discovery, development, CAR-T cell therapies, transplantations, repair, and regeneration.

Transcell Biolife was founded to be a biobank for the intended applications; built on preservation theme and technology translated to apply.

In Biolife’s context with credible inhouse R&D, Intellectual property surrounding the story as translating the prowess of adult stem cell technologies to the intended applications, thebiosamples derived stem cell units and data are invaluable assets in the repository. The belief and the conviction have been handling the right kind of bio-samples, derived cellular platforms depending on the use, with Biolife’s team emerging as revenants in the wake of industry transformation, adaptation.

With a track record of offering bio storage products and related services, Biolife today has positioned itself addressing expectant families and families with kids aged between 5 and 11- year markets. The vision of the

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company is to become an epicenter biobank for Asia facilitating transformative medicine. Biolife is a revelation from India in the field of biobanking with applications shown beyond autologous presentations.

Extraordinary Services and Products ScellCare ScellCare is into storing umbilical cord, bone marrow and bio-sample derivatives (cellular units and stem cell transcriptomics). Collection is noninvasive, painless, and poses no risk to the donor, while source is being categorized as biological discards. In India, blood forming (hematopoietic) stem cells from bone marrow or umbilical (nadi) cord blood are routinely used to treat blood cancers and different blood disorders as Standard Care in managing 40 different kind of diseases. The stem cell transcriptomics derived report is predictive (not diagnostic) in nature with details on the donor stem cells genomics in readable format. This is completely next generation feature of the biobanking service that Biolife has integrated into it’s regular offering.

ToothScell Dental stem cells are adult stem cells found in wisdom teeth and baby teeth.

They are being studied for applications in regenerative medicine and dentistry while over 2000 clinical trials are ongoing at global level. ToothScell program acquires donor’s tooth stem cell nucleotide sequence before

cryopreserving the units in the repository. Identification of disease genes from the sequence can have applications in proactive healthcare approach and predictive testing.

Relationship of dental stem cell molecular markers with other systemic illnesses like that of heart ailments, diabetes, immune disorders are known.

ToothScell is a comprehensive and progressive relationship with it’s clients offering precious service from collected bio-sample.

Benefits for Clients Insightful, Latest, Modern, Credible, Transcell Biolife’s laboratory driven original data converted to users’ precious experience in the form of biobanking related solutions. Biolife empowers them by offering these solutions to act informed addressing their family’s wholistic medical, healthcare requirement.

The Leader with Vision S Dravida, the Founder, and CEO is a scientist by profession, practicing to translate the group’s proprietary stem cell platform technologies to applications. With utmost dedication and focus on delivering maximum with minimum input philosophy, she has orchestrated Biolife for preserving all precious things to offer the intended applications keeping stakeholder value in mind. It is her vision, which is built on the team’s strengths to become Asia’s epicenter biobank playing a key role in facilitating the derived applications, that sets Biolife apart from the rest of the players.

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S Dravida Founder & CEO

Adopting Digital Disruptions The company believes and practices original research driving the business offerings from Biolife and so has built unique internal complex processes customized connecting digitization.

Starting from the client enrolment, till the promised service from the Biobank is delivered, the entire operational (technical and sales) process is wired while handling privacy related matters as per the rule of the country.

Overcoming the Challenges “We operate from India and this market is crowded with known businesses, models, markets for example cord blood banking which is commoditized. So, it was difficult for us to get practitioners, evangelists, ambassadors, sales champions in the beginning who could proactively be our referral points promoting our story that has unique differentiators with proven track record”, S Dravida recollects.

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Further, she says, “To our honest self and after facing the market and the customers for the past 7 years continuously sharing our ups and downs that are different from the others, Biolife stands tall today with great connection established with needy market. The discovered growth formula addressing bio-sample storage disruptively is the ground breaking strategy breaking all the growth deteriorating challenges in this space.” The vision, operating team’s adaptability, ability to connect with the user (B2B or B2C) on Biolife’s strengths, core capacities have set any competition at bay in the market.

The Future Roadmap “As far as Biolife’s internal growth in India, it is planned to be organic by strengthening facilities, adding channel partners from North and Eastern states to handle volumes while thegrowth formula embraced by Biolife positions the company as epicenter biobank in Asia building assets in the repository to apply”, S Dravida expresses her view regarding the future road map for the company.

Biolife operates with a purpose and the fact that it has growing clientele and collaborations in India is a testimonial in its language.

‘‘

Meaningful innovation does not need to be based on outright invention. Rather, there is an exhilarating shortcut. It is based on bold, new combinations of already existing components that simultaneously unlock heightened levels of consumer value and reduce costs.

-Gabor George Burt

‘‘

L Krishna is the head of Operations with Biolife team. He has been the core member with technical, and medical background contributing to the success of present operations. His alignment, passion for the company’s mission and vision translating to setting an example with Biolife achieving operational efficiency is a rare talent. He plays a crucial role in bridging the facilities and the field dynamics with commitment.

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Agri Tech

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iotechnology is a the exploration and development of various biological processes to achieve mainly industrial and various other purposes cultivation of the plants, and improvements through breeding programs.

The processes also employs artificial selection and hybridization which emphases its functionality. At present, the modern usage also includes genetic engineering as well as cell and tissue culture technologies.

In earlier days biotechnology process was initiated by farmers who developed improved species of plants and animals by cross-fertilizing or cross-breeding. In recent years, biotechnology has expanded its core functionality widely which now focuses on sophistication, scope, and applicability.

A well-known and author and writer is vague and can be unsubstantial, for example, Clayton Christensen share his views as, "There are other dimensions of biotechnology. If you think of biotechnology like the Internet, it's not a category - it's an infrastructure that can be deployed to sustain or disrupt. In healthcare, the most complex problems at the high end have to be dealt with in a problem-solving mode by the best, most experienced physicians you can find.”

Biotechnology is immensely contributing towards agriculture which enhances its functionality to the next level. Agriculture aspects have extremely changed with biotechnology functions and increase readability of the process.

What is Agriculture Biotechnology?

Agricultural Biotechnology is also known as Agritech. It is an area of agricultural science involving the use of scientific tools and techniques. There are several techniques used in agriculture biotechnology such as Genetic Engineering,

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Molecular Markers, Molecular Diagnostics, Vaccines, and tissue culture. And it also modifies the living organisms like Plants, Animals, and Microorganisms.

In recent times, Crop biotechnology has been developed its functionality in agriculture and is also one of the main aspects of agriculture biotechnology. Its desired qualities are exported from a particular species of Crop to an entirely different species.

How is Agriculture Biotechnology Used?

Genetic Engineering: The term is derived from scientific research provides information about how to move genes from one organism to another. This is known as genetic engineering (GE) or genetic modification (GM). Genetic engineering includes the transfer of useful characteristics by inserting DNA of Plants, animal or microorganism from another organism to another.

Molecular Diagnostics: Molecular diagnostics significantly detect genes or gene products that are very precise and specific. Molecular diagnostics is the method used in agriculture to more accurately diagnose crop/livestock diseases.

Tissue Culture: Tissue culture is the process of regeneration of plants from the disease-free plant. This technique allows reproduction of disease-free planting material for crops.

Unified Methods Used for Corp Modification Traditional Breeding: Traditional breeding method has been used for centuries to improve crop quality and quantity. The crossbreeding describes the combination of two compatible species to create a new variety with the desired traits. The crossbreeding can be only utilized within the same or closely related species.

Polyploidy: Polyploidy is the method describes which can be induced to modify the number of chromosomes in a crop in order to influence its fertility or size. Through naturally or with the use of chemicals, the number of chromosomes can change. The process results in the fertility changes in modification within the crop.

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Protoplast Fusion: Protoplast fusion is also known as Somatic fusion. It is a type of genetic modification in plants by which two distinct species of plants.

In this method, it includes joining of cells or cell components to transfer traits between species.

Transgenics: Transgenics is the method which involves the insertion of one piece of DNA into another organism's DNA. It works in order to introduce a new gene into the original organism. This addition of genes into an organism's genetic material creates a new variety with desired qualities.

Impact of Agriculture Biotechnology on Economy and Social Life The technology used in agricultural productivity improved its usability and functionality with some major factors such as combine harvesters, chemical fertilizers, and the green revolution. Like every technology, agricultural biotechnology will also have its major impact on economic and social.

In agriculture, crops using biotechnologies have improved its quality and also been used safely with benefits. The technology influences the whole process by the reduction of pesticide use. At present agricultural biotechnology, one of the factors that influence the health and welfare of the farmers and other citizens in the developing world.

Influence of Agriculture Biotechnology in the Future The aim of agricultural biotechnology is to present the functionality of the applications used in agriculture biotechnology. The applications are eagerly awaited to increase

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the productivity of crops, primarily by reducing the costs of production by decreasing the needs for inputs of pesticides. The process is mostly used in crops grown in temperate zones. The application of agricultural biotechnology can improve the quality of life by developing new strains of plants that give higher crops.

The crops can be grown in a wider range of environments which give better rotations to conserve natural resources. It also provides more nutritious harvested products that keep much longer in storage and transport, and continue low-cost food supplies to consumers.

According to Crop Science, the company with credible authority on the progress and future implications of Agricultural biotechnology states that, “Farming is evolving in the 21st century with the development and use of biotechnology crops. Scientists and agronomists work in the lab and greenhouse to come up with genes that improve crop yield and make corn, soybean, cotton and canola plants more resistant to insects and more tolerant to herbicides, drought, and stress.�

The biotechnology and its process is the evidence of the contributions towards rural development around the world. It serves as the source of inspiration for emerging nations to complement existing practices with agricultural biotechnology.

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January 2020|

FastSense Diagnostics The Next-Gen Technology for Swift and E cient Care

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oday, as technology is making advancements, the world is also progressing with an exponential rate. This advancement has also taken the healthcare space to a different dimension. Yet, there are many diseases and disorders that are untouched by emerging technological advancements.

Currently, it is estimated that approximately 2.3 million people are living with cancer in India.

Approximately 12 lakh new patients get registered per year and 8 lakh deaths occurs in a year.

While there are many brilliant minds in the world working towards changing the devastating scenario of current cancer care, very few have been successful in implementing it. One such visionary startup FastSense Diagnostics (FSD) has taken the responsibility to bring the change which the world is looking forward to.

The company is led by three dynamic personalities. Dr. Preeti Nigam Joshi is the Founder of FastSense Diagnostics. While Harish Joshi and Dr. Saildendra Mishra are the Co-founders of the company. The reason behind the genesis of FastSense was when Preeti’s mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Growing with the Company’s Vision It is known that most of the times lives

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are lost to late diagnosis of diseases when no treatment is possible. At FastSense Diagnostics the primary focus is to develop portable, easy to use, early-stage detection devices and models for complex diseases. It focuses specifically on deep tissue cancers and neonatal sepsis as these are the untouched segments but deeply affecting many lives.

Dr. Preeti says, “Our company is driven by the vision of affordable healthcare for all and the ability to develop the indigenous technologies to bring the cost down and take the benefits of scientific advancements to the last man in society.”

Revolutionary Products FastSense is targeting to build point of care devices for early detection of fatal diseases, drug delivery systems for deep tissue cancers and AI-based modules for disease prediction. The company majorly focuses on complex diseases segment including cancers (liver, pancreatic, GI tract, oral, lung), neonatal sepsis, Alzheimer’s, etc.

Their premium product L-Sens which would be hitting the market soon is a handy device for diagnosis liver cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma). The advantage of the system is that it can be used to screen a large population prone to liver cancer.

The next product in the line is Sepsis-S for neonatal sepsis. According to

Preeti, in an estimate, India alone reported sepsis cases in 17,000/1,00,000 live births and that data itself shows the gravity of the situation. These cases are comparatively high in the rural parts of the country.

“Currently, there is no portable detection method available to identify the cases timely and we are filling the gap by our kit “Sepsis-S”. It’s a stateof-the-art minimally invasive device to identify sepsis onset within 72 hrs. Our products are compatible with smartphones so data can be easily transferred to doctors and healthcare providers to get a timely assessment in critical cases like sepsis,” expresses Dr. Preeti.

Overcoming the Challenges As a startup, there are many obstacles that a company has to face. The challenges increased when it came to fundraising for FastSense. Being a non-IT startup, all these obstacles seemed more challenging.

Nevertheless, the company, through its innovative thinking and goodwill, received funding.

Dr. Preeti mentions, “The biggest problem with technology start-ups (in non-IT domains especially in health tech) is fundraising as many times the product development takes a long time from 3-10 years for medical devices to come into the market and to sustain January 2020|

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Dr. Preeti Nigam Joshi

Mr. Harish Joshi

Sailendra Mishra

Founder

Co-founder

Co-founder

‘‘

during such long duration is a big challenge. Although government policies are creating a positive environment for start-ups still it’s a long way to solve all problems that startups face.”

Recently, FastSense has received the Bio Ignition Grant and NIDHI Prayas award by the Department of Biotechnology – BIRAC, Government of India. Apart from this, the company made a special news appearance in BioVoice under “Special Startup Series: Affordable diagnostic kits for early-stage cancer detection.

Creating a Mark on the Society In the current times, it is necessary to develop oneself while taking each other along. Intermixing of different fields of expertise has been proven beneficial. Dr. Preeti herself has a background in biotechnology but she now works in the field of nanotechnology.

good responses among experts and clinical validation are on and we are confident of hitting the market at earliest. We will continue to strive for developing products that are in sync with our vision of affordable healthcare. We are developing different in-house facilities and gradually working on team building to bring likeminded people under the umbrella of FastSense so that we could sail full throttle to bring new products and technologies for all.”

In the forthcoming years, a combination of numerous information technology like AI, ML, 5G, computing efficiency and chemical sciences will help tackle problems that were otherwise not easy to crack to date. It will further be possible to interlink telemedicine, remote surgery, personalized or customized treatment regime. This will ultimately turn the tables around as the medical healthcare will become distinctly affordable.

‘‘

The prime motivation we have is " Detect early Save lives" and our products will bridge the gap between diagnosis and treatment and provide better survival rates

‘‘

At FastSense, we have I3 (Innovation, Inspire & Integrity) as a common set of values and our team works with full dedication to solve complex health problems to improve lives

Preeti mentions, “We believe the future to be bright as our products have got

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