Way back in 1964, Amar G Bose, professor of engineering at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), founded Bose Corp on the
foundation of his own graduate research. This led to the development of
new, patented technologies with the encouragement of his alma mater,
MIT. Many years later, in 1999, his son Vanu Bose, also an MIT graduate,
followed in the same path to set up his own company Vanu Inc based on
his research at MIT's SpectrumWare project. They may not be a large
number but there are many Indian scientists willing to take the
entrepreneurial plunge with their scientific inventions, and for many of
them, the risk has paid off.
"Often it is a question of getting out of one's comfort zone in the lab, or of a prestigious and well-paying job. Besides sectors like biotech and pharma, which attract scientific startups, are often very risky," says Mahendra G Shah, venture partner at the Silicon Valley-based Vivo Ventures, an investment firm focused on making investments into promising private and public health-care companies in the US and greater China."Raising finance is the other big challenge for such scientist entrepreneurs. The questions that they are faced with are on whether their technology or scientific discovery will make it to the commercially successful product stage. And because of a very competitive environment in which such scientists usually find themselves, VCs often expect them to put together strong business teams as well," adds Shah, who has had a very successful career as pharmaceutical entrepreneur.
Shiladitya Sengupta
Assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-chair, Center for Regenerative Therapeutics, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Alumnus of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences
Higher studies at University of Cambridge and MIT
Key Research: Cancer treatment
As Entrepreneur: Co-founder of Cerulean Pharma Inc in Boston, and Mitra Biotech (cancer diagnostics), Vyome Biosciences (dermatology products) and Invictus Oncology (cancer drug discovery) in India, backed by some leading VCs globally.
Vision: To bridge the academic and industry worlds through research. While he enjoys mentoring students, also felt it critical to start companies to take the research forward into actual product development. Wants to start innovation-driven startups in India to launch global products from India that transform the lives of patients.
Challenge as Scientist: In India it's early-stage funding and there are few venture capitalists who have the domain expertise in science. While government funding is available, it is usually insufficient to actually build a company. The innovation ecosystem is really poor in India.
Sangeeta N Bhatia
PhD from MIT and MD from Harvard, professor of sciences and technology & electrical engineering and computer science, MIT
Key Research: Nano-technology to create micro-livers — an innovation helping pharma companies develop safer drugs.
As Entrepreneur: In 2007, launched Hepregen Corporation, an MIT spinoff, with Bonnie Fendrock, an executive from the biotech industry. Veteran venture capitalist, Mort Collins of Battelle Ventures, put in funding in 2008. The company is working with partners to utilise and validate its platform HepatoPac.
Bhatia is head of the scientific advisory board, consultant, and observer on the board. She is also co-founder of Zymera, a privately-held nanobiotech company pioneering the commercialisation of nanocrystal tech for preclinical in vivo imaging and as an analytical platform for molecular detection. In the process of starting a third company and adviser to three others started by her students — Sienna, Essentient, and another without a final name.
Vision: As a scientist, she wants her academic lab to be an innovation engine that spins out technologies into companies when they are ready to be deployed. As an Indian-American, daughter of a serial entrepreneur, she was raised with the notion that her technologies needed to be commerialised to have the broadest impact. From the day she graduated, her parents would ask "when will you start a company".
Challenge as Scientist: Critical to have a robust connection between academics and industry. Education goes both ways and her research programme has taken tangibly different paths because of her entrepreneurial experience.
source:http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-22/news/32777537_1_shiladitya-sengupta-invictus-oncology-mitra-biotech
"Often it is a question of getting out of one's comfort zone in the lab, or of a prestigious and well-paying job. Besides sectors like biotech and pharma, which attract scientific startups, are often very risky," says Mahendra G Shah, venture partner at the Silicon Valley-based Vivo Ventures, an investment firm focused on making investments into promising private and public health-care companies in the US and greater China."Raising finance is the other big challenge for such scientist entrepreneurs. The questions that they are faced with are on whether their technology or scientific discovery will make it to the commercially successful product stage. And because of a very competitive environment in which such scientists usually find themselves, VCs often expect them to put together strong business teams as well," adds Shah, who has had a very successful career as pharmaceutical entrepreneur.
Shiladitya Sengupta
Assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-chair, Center for Regenerative Therapeutics, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Alumnus of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences
Higher studies at University of Cambridge and MIT
Key Research: Cancer treatment As Entrepreneur: Co-founder of Cerulean Pharma Inc in Boston, and Mitra Biotech (cancer diagnostics), Vyome Biosciences (dermatology products) and Invictus Oncology (cancer drug discovery) in India, backed by some leading VCs globally.
Vision: To bridge the academic and industry worlds through research. While he enjoys mentoring students, also felt it critical to start companies to take the research forward into actual product development. Wants to start innovation-driven startups in India to launch global products from India that transform the lives of patients.
Challenge as Scientist: In India it's early-stage funding and there are few venture capitalists who have the domain expertise in science. While government funding is available, it is usually insufficient to actually build a company. The innovation ecosystem is really poor in India.
Sangeeta N Bhatia
Key Research: Nano-technology to create micro-livers — an innovation helping pharma companies develop safer drugs.
As Entrepreneur: In 2007, launched Hepregen Corporation, an MIT spinoff, with Bonnie Fendrock, an executive from the biotech industry. Veteran venture capitalist, Mort Collins of Battelle Ventures, put in funding in 2008. The company is working with partners to utilise and validate its platform HepatoPac.
Bhatia is head of the scientific advisory board, consultant, and observer on the board. She is also co-founder of Zymera, a privately-held nanobiotech company pioneering the commercialisation of nanocrystal tech for preclinical in vivo imaging and as an analytical platform for molecular detection. In the process of starting a third company and adviser to three others started by her students — Sienna, Essentient, and another without a final name.
Vision: As a scientist, she wants her academic lab to be an innovation engine that spins out technologies into companies when they are ready to be deployed. As an Indian-American, daughter of a serial entrepreneur, she was raised with the notion that her technologies needed to be commerialised to have the broadest impact. From the day she graduated, her parents would ask "when will you start a company".
Challenge as Scientist: Critical to have a robust connection between academics and industry. Education goes both ways and her research programme has taken tangibly different paths because of her entrepreneurial experience.
source:http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-22/news/32777537_1_shiladitya-sengupta-invictus-oncology-mitra-biotech
