Microbiome Domain – A journey and perspective from India

 

Our journey in the microbiome domain started in 2015. We had launched our company, Leucine Rich Bio pvt ltd. in the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru in the late half of 2014. We integrated our expertise in genomics, systems biology, molecular biology, information technology and bioinformatics to build a robust system that could address the challenges of the microbiome domain. We curated tons of research papers to build our own databases (Microbyte and Nutribyte) which contained information on the various aspects of the microbiota, their link to diseases, nutrients in food etc. Next challenge was to develop algorithms and matrices that would take the raw data from next generation sequencing machines as input and provide an actionable output in the form of a report utilizing the data from our in-house databases. That’s how South Asia’s first microbiome test, BugSpeaks was launched in mid-2018. Also, in early 2021, we launched India’s first gut microbiome data-based nutraceutical line, Rychbiome. It gives us immense pride that we could become this region’s first microbiome company and in doing so also helped spread awareness on this very important aspect.

So, what have been our challenges? Well, microbiome domain is very complicated and it required a great mix of expertise from various quarters to pull this off. Running a deep science based startup in India has its challenges. Although in the last few years the startup ecosystem has evolved yet it has still miles to go for it to become mature like in the West. Then there was lack of awareness as this domain was new. Interestingly, people in general, in India know a lot about the importance of gut health as our ancient scriptures like Ayurveda emphasized on keeping the gut healthy. Most people in India eat a variety of fermented foods as part of their routine diet thereby taking care of their gut! however, the fact that one can now profile one’s gut microflora and based on that could take certain actionable steps to improve their health and wellness was very new to them. We also found a lack of interest from majority of the investment community in India. This may be again because this field was new and there were no yardsticks to compare us with. But I feel now things are changing and I hope investors in India can see the potential of this domain and how it can change the way healthcare functions!

So, what are the advantages that we have? First, India is very diverse. The gene pool, the food habits, the climate, everything adds tremendous value to the microbiome data. Secondly, India is rich source of skilled and talented workforce. We are already an IT major and we have tremendous skilled force in the biotechnology and life-science domains as well. Such combination is hard to find by and expensive in other parts of the world. 

Where do we see the microbiome space going? We feel this domain can revolutionize the healthcare paradigm. Currently it is more commonly associated with the wellness category but it has the potential to provide diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic solutions in gastroenterology, oncology, mental health and women health!

We feel India is in the cusp of providing major breakthroughs in various fields and microbiome domain is no different provided the government and investor community support this space!

 This opinion piece was published in Express Healthcare -

https://www.expresshealthcare.in/blogs/guest-blogs-healthcare/microbiome-domain-a-journey-and-perspective-from-india/431244/

 

 

Jobs in the Life science Industry in India – It is a mirage

India is a country where academic excellence is given a priority from the very childhood. Parents encourage children sometimes even going to the extent of coaxing them to leave other activities and focus on ‘studies’ to get into good colleges and get a good degree (read engineering/medicine). People who follow their passion for science then go on to complete higher education degrees (PhD, PostDoc) in the hope that their ‘youth’ spent in the labs would guarantee them good job opportunity in the future. However, that is not the case now as many genuinely talented, knowledgeable and deserving candidates are running helter skelter to cling on to whatever comes their way thereby even sacrificing or ‘adapting’ to the newer ‘job’ requirements. 

Consider this, an engineering graduate gets into a job in the fertile age of around 22-23, whereas a Life science PhD holder gets into an active meaningful job only after the age of 30 and thereafter the real struggle begins. Although, the Indian Life science industry has evolved off late but in reality they have not helped the life science job seekers. There are very few Government sponsored jobs and mostly the industry caters to the demand. There was once a time when Biotechnology used to be compared with the Information technology in terms of the revenue generation scope and job creation. Alas, the biotechnology sector has fallen way back. It would be futile to expect all research driven opportunities coming their way for the PhDs but the ancillary positions which require scientific acumen should be promoted. Many PhDs have good communication and have good business skills, they should be considered for positions that require such skills rather than only looking for people with MBAs. 

There is a case for the Human resource (HR) departments to also gear up with these eventualities. Many a times HR people are not trained to look for talent but they only go with matching the key words required for the job with the candidate’s CV! This is a narrow way to approach the talent hunt and in my opinion this needs to be overhauled. 

We would need to find out solution to this mess otherwise not many people will take up science or pursue research in the future.