Successful biotech startups

Peerzada Abrar, ET Bureau

(Shrikumar Suryanarayan…)

Turning seaweed into bio fuel was an idea so audacious that most people who heard of it dismissed it as a pipe dream. But for a group of tenacious students at IIT-Madras the naysayers were no deterrent.

In just four years, the team of five has successfully transformed a futuristic idea into a new business venture. "The thought of failure didn't come to me. I saw it as a huge opportunity to apply what I had learnt, " said Sri Sailaja Nori, 25, cofounder of Sea6 Energy, the Bangalore based startup which has struck a partnership with global industrial enzyme maker Novozymes to create new products to enhance the process of converting seaweed into ethanol.

In addition, Sea6 has also developed technology to generate natural gas from the same process. "I was so excited to see what these young minds can create, " said Shrikumar Suryanarayan, chairman of Sea6 who signed on as a mentor to Nori and her team when he realised their potential. Suryanarayan who was formerly head of research at biotechnology firm Biocon worked alongside the youngsters as they fine-tuned their product.

Today, with three patent applications filed and nearly Rs 6.5 crore in angel funding, the startup is well on its way to finding commercial applications. Sea6 is one of several startups that are taking on higher risks in an attempt to turn their 'blue sky research' into businesses, marking a shift in India's life sciences sector. A decade ago, life sciences companies were mainly focused on services like contract manufacturing or development of generic drugs, where the business model consisted of supplying scientists who would work for a specific period on a specific problem.

Experts said things began to change as the industry grew in size and ambitious entrepreneurs began working on a range of applications from developing nanomedicine that shrinks tumours to drugs that promote self-healing of damaged organs. In the past few years, a number of angel investors and venture capitalists have shown the willingness to fund these emerging product companies.