"StartUp” but hold tight

“Startups” in today’s day and age can provide two important deliverables to the society: -

·       Employment

·       Innovation and possible disruption in the domain they are active in

No doubt Governments across the world and more specifically here in India are trying to support start-ups. However, for entrepreneurs, it is a long winding road that they need to traverse to see light at the end of the tunnel. Not all ideas can be commercialized immediately especially if it is highly technical and demand lot of testing and “proof of concept” studies.

Even after successfully achieving that comes the challenge of proper marketing and positioning of the product. All of these take time and therefore it is imperative that all stake-holders in the “startup” including employees and investors hold tight and pursue with perseverance.

                                                                             Image courtesy - Cushmancreative

Startups in the life science domain have their own challenges apart from the regular ones. The “bench to bedside” concept which the domain especially pharma and biotech works on relies heavily on research. Now, this type of research primarily is based on pre-clinical and then clinical studies. We all know how long it takes for a particular concept to cross all the stages till it reaches the end user. Therefore, patience is an inbuilt asset for the startups that are in this domain. Many startups in US and Europe start working on spinoffs from interesting leads that come out in a laboratory and many lucky ones get funded as well. However, this concept in India needs some time to catch up as investors are vary into putting money so early without any credible road to return of investment. Also, I feel if there are “success” stories in the life science space that come out of India then many investors will get enthused about funding this domain.

Having said that, not all life science startups need wait for the discoveries to take a credible shape. Many companies in the microbiome space for example like Viome (US), Ubiome (US), Day two (Israel) and Leucine Rich Bio (India) are already trying to bring the fruits of research faster to the end user. Of course, research is always “work in progress” and especially in life science new discoveries and theories can append to the existing knowledge however accelerating adoption is also key in making paradigm shifts in the domain.

Hence, it is very important to build an ecosystem where the startups can provide the necessary impetus to the society and all stake holders need to hold tight till the end result is achieved!

The road ahead for Life Science PhDs – the industry options

Getting a PhD is always a very big achievement more so if one has received that degree from a prestigious Institution. Many who are interested in pursuing a PhD do so mainly because of love for “science”. There is no better happiness but to see or find something novel during the course of various experiments that one undertakes during this journey. Of course, out of 100 experiments may be 90 would fail but that teaches tremendous level of perseverance and patience. What is not taught in most institutions is the career path that a budding scientist can take!

                                          Image courtesy - itimes.com

Most PhDs go for post doctoral research which is a kind of bridge between getting an academic/industry position and PhD training. Although, it could be the most productive phase of one’s career, many a times that may not be true. Also, being a post doctoral researcher for long not only dents the individual’s morale but also reduces chance of getting a meaningful employment later. So what are the options?

Not everyone can pursue an academic dream so for the rest industry does provide an alternative if one is receptive enough. There are many options a PhD can look at:-

·         Consultancy jobs – Pharma consultancy jobs require good analytical skills and PhDs generally fit the bill perfectly, however, this is a completely different domain and requires new skill sets which many would possess but may not realize till they start working for such organizations.



·         Industry R&D – Here, I think many PhDs would feel comfortable. However, industry research is completely different from the academic one. Stricter timelines and deadlines are the norm. So one has to quickly adjust to the new environment.

 ·         Business Development – This is a domain for those who like presenting or networking with people. Not all PhDs are comfortable in this and therefore before getting into this one has to be clear about the road map. This generally also requires lot of travelling. One has to always achieve and sometimes surpass the ‘targets’ set by the organizations so that becomes a challenge. However, with good support and skills one can achieve the same. Many PhDs who have transitioned into this domain have become very successful.

 ·         Application Scientists – This is also a good domain for people who are technically good and like travelling but are averse to chasing ‘numbers’. Many big organizations like ThermoFisher, Illumina etc. have an army of application scientists. Initially one has to be in the field but slowly one climbs up the ladder and is required to manage the team of scientists.


·         Scientific writing/Editing – For many PhDs who are technically good and love reading /writing and have a good command over English can look at this option. Many companies in India like Cactus communications advertize for editors/sub editors in various fields of life science.



·         Recruitment – Although, this is probably the least favorite among the PhDs but it does provide another job alternative. Many recruitment agencies hire PhDs to scan and analyze multiple CVs they get so that the right person is shortlisted for the right job interviews.



·         IP/Technology Transfer – This is another exciting domain. Although, this requires some experience and few additional courses/skill sets but can be very rewarding both financially and professionally.

There might be other alternatives available to the PhDs. My aim here was not to provide an exhaustive list but to give a glimpse of the avenues present. All of the above options carry their respective pros and cons. So, it is imperative, that an individual first assesses himself before selecting one of the paths. Good luck to all present and budding PhDs

A shot in the arm for the Indian Drug discovery/Innovation ecosystem

The recent announcement of collaboration in the field of type 2 diabetes between Boehringer Ingelheim and Connexios LifeSciences, a Bangalore based drug discovery company is good news for the entire Indian ‘innovation’ ecosystem especially in the field of life sciences.

First, to the credit of the investors of Connexios (Nadathur Holdings and Investments), they invested in an idea and held on to it for a decade or so knowing well the pitfalls of such a ‘high risk high gain’ business model and at a time when such type of investments were unheard of in India . In India, unlike the West, we do not see many University spin offs working to bring breakthrough concepts/technology from the ‘bench to the bedside’ so in that aspect Connexios Life Sciences took a bold step to focus on System/Network biology approach to find novel targets and newer ‘first in class’ molecules. Another aspect that is interesting in this is that the company focused all its energies and expertise on type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Drug discovery is a costly and long drawn affair so focusing on one disease model was a good decision which led to concentrated efforts by the team. This also means that the company has more than one option in terms of novel targets and new small molecules to focus on the disease. So if one program fails, there would be a back up of other targets and small molecule entities (SMEs) giving credibility to the company.

The success of Connexios therefore gives a huge fillip to the ‘research based’ organizations. In India, very few companies focus on impactful research especially in the life science/biotech arena. As India is known as ‘the pharmacy of the world’, hence, most of the pharma companies devote their research activities on the development of generics (formulation, synthesis etc.) with very little emphasis on discovery of newer molecules or targets. This leaves a huge gap in the Indian innovation ecosystem. The news of the collaboration between Connexios and BI should also provide impetus to investors to believe in this type of Business model with more conviction than before. 

There is no denying fact, that India can become a major Innovation hub as it has a huge ‘talent’ pool of high skilled scientists who work at a fraction of cost as compared to the their western counterparts. The time has come to give more credit to our scientists and a better conducive research atmosphere with more investments in this sector so that we have more successful Connexios type stories in the future!

The hub and spoke model – from aviation to pharma

Every idea has its place under the sun. Two industries, pharmaceuticals and aviation which are known to be ‘high risk – high gain’ business are strikingly employing similar practices in order to maximize productivity and profits.

Everyone would agree that both aviation and pharmaceutical businesses require ‘deep pockets’ to start and sustain. Both have long periods of gestation but if run properly then returns can be huge eg. Pfizer, Merck, Emirates etc. 

Let us look at the paradigm shift being brought about by the major aviation companies and pharma giants to improve sustainability of their respective businesses.  In aviation, big players like Etihad, Emirates, Singapore airlines utilize their home base airports of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Singapore respectively as hubs which then is used to improve/increase traffic. Traffic is brought in from various airports around the world and the hubs provide seamless connectivity options to their respective customers – a typical hub and spoke model!

Similar kind of approach is now being utilized by the pharma giants to increase their R&D productivity. R&D is the base on which any pharma company stands. But with increasing drought of blockbuster drugs coming out from the stable of Merck, Pfizer et al., it has become imperative for them to look for other ‘innovative’ means. The answer- ‘reduce expenditure on internal R&D efforts and create smaller hubs to scout for interesting research done in smaller companies/universities’. The companies feel this would help them to maximize R&D productivity and will be better focused on bringing in a stream of new deals. This is another version of ‘hub and spoke model’. 

There are critics of this approach but with increasing cost burden, lack of nimbleness in the big pharma set up it is probably important to decentralize and open up.

The lost war or is it? – Infections vs Antibiotics

Antibiotics, once hailed as magic bullets for battling infection are now facing serious challenge from their adversaries, the bacteria, which are hitting back with renewed vengeance. A recent case of a patient in New Zealand dying of bacterial infection (Klebsiella pneumonia) which was resistant to all known antibiotics points to an ‘apocalypse’ scenario in the future if corrective measures are not taken. 

So where is the problem? First, the tendency to overprescribe antibiotics for even slightest of infection is a big worry. Alexander Fleming, the father of antibiotics had warned of dangers of antibiotic resistance. In fact, Penicillin-resistant bacteria arrived while the drug was still being given to only a few patients. Another breeding ground for antibiotic resistant bacteria is in their rampant use in farm animals. Unfortunately, for the pharma companies research interest into antibiotics have slowly waned as there are far more profitable drugs to throw money at, since antibiotics are usually single-serve drugs for humans, not long-term treatments. Drugs for chronic conditions tend to be more profitable. And with drug resistance quickly evolving, rendering older antibiotics ineffective, pharma companies have even less incentive to invest in these drugs. However, recent trends suggest that big pharma companies might be reviewing their strategy as Roche has re-entered the arena through a $550 million tie-up with privately held Polyphor, a Swiss company, to develop and commercialize an experimental antibiotic against hospital superbugs. 

The key is to collaborate with Universities and small drug discovery companies that focus on infections as Roche did. Smaller companies are looking at next-generation drugs or in some cases alternative therapies. Some companies for example are looking at bacteriophage therapy. But despite technical successes, these companies face an uphill battle in developing a consistent, approvable product and haven't yet found much commercial validation or attracted much investment. This is where the experience and backing of big pharma companies would help. Another alternate and a newer area of interest is the human microbiome, which can lead to potential commercial therapeutics. Microbiome companies like Seres Health, Vedanta Biosciences and Second Genome are a good bet as far as making the next cut for coming out with a new approach to treating infections are concerned!