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The Government of India and the biotechindustry honor Dr Cyrus
Poonawalla for
achievements in vaccines
Hilla P. Guzder
from the industry, government and aca-demic institutions." It
was one of thelargest gatherings in the biotech sec-tor, reports
BioSpectrum in its issue ofJanuary 2005. On the choice of Personof
the Year, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,dynamic entrepreneur and head
ofBiocon Limited, who was chairman ofthejury, stated: "Dr Cyrus
Poonawallaclearly stood for all the qualities that ittakes to be a
leader. With his verypioneering spirit, he has built a world-class
institution and put India on thevaccine map of the world. Today it
isvery clearly recognized that India isone of the leading vaccine
producersof the world, thanks to the Serum Insti-tute of
India."
In his acceptance speech at the awardsfunction Poonawalla traced
thedifferences in the enabling en-vironment: "When I startedthe
company in 1966, I neverdreamt that the Serum Insti-tute of
India... would actuallygrow to its full potential. Dur-ing those
days, unlike today,we didn't have a proacti ve bio-
~-: technology department. Theindustry now is a much
morefavorable place and aspiringbiotechnologists today are
much more fortunate. They would beable to go ahead much quicker
than wedid. We took 35 long years to come towhere we are today... I
have six members inmy team who have not only stood by me(through
long years) but also helped me todevelop the company... without
giving mea heartache for even a single day...
"I have been known more for my racingand breeding personality...
and many ofmy racing colleagues are surprised as towhy I took a
sabbatical from (being) thehead of the board of administration of
theIndian Association of Racing and Breed-ing... I gave up that
love and passion ofmine for more of a humanitarian causethan
high-profile racing... We (Serum Insti-tute) are the lowest-priced
in every prod-uct th~ we market not only in India butalso across
the globe and the result hasbeen amazing. It seems quite likely
that wecan make India proud to be the numberone manufacturer in
terms of numbers ofvaccines that children get, never in the.value.
The number would touch two bil-lion doses. My team and I hope to
achievethis for India," Poonawalla stated.
The Padma Shri was conferred on him bythe President of India in
his honors list on
India'sRepublicDay,January26,2005.Selected "Person of the Year
2004" byBioSpectrum (which covers the people,products and business
of biotechnol-ogy) and Poonawalla group companySerum Institute of
India chosenBioPharrna Company of the year 2004,chairman and
managing director Dr CyrusPoonawalla is riding a new high.
'The Padma Shri was awarded (in thecategory of trade) in
recognition of myputting Serum Institute of India on theglobal map
of vaccines. We export to over130 countries worldwide and 50
percent ofchildren immunized in 2004 against
measlesandDTP(diphtheria,teta- :-nus and pertussis) have B~, c
tho'"been vaccinated with Se- !lU.)PErum Institute's
vaccines,"Poonawalla told Parsiana.The Padma Shri is veryobviously
a prestigious iaward as it means national Irecognition, he
added.
With revenues of overRs 500 crore and va~inesand
immunobiologicalsexported from its state ofthe art facility at
Hadap-sar in Poona, the SerumInstitute is recognized by the
Govern-ment of India as an export and tradinghouse.
Serum Institute has expended Rs 200crore "on setting up of world
class GMP
(good manufacturing practices) premisesfor some very important
new vaccinesthat are developed and are already inPhase-I clinical
trials study- the conju-gate meningitis vaccine,
haemophilusinfluenzae vaccine (commonly known as
HIB vaccine) and combination vaccinewhere children can be
protected in oneshot for tetanus, diphtheria, whoopingcough,
Hepatitis-B and haemo-philus influenzae. The expan-sion also
involves a wholerange of anti-cancer products,which have now gone
off pat-
Ients in the US and EuropeanUnion markets," Poonawallatold
Parsiana.
Poonawallawas22whenhe I
started operations in 1966 (see Poonawalla"Spurs to Success,"
Parsiana, nationalAugust 2002) as asmal120-man recognitionunit,
manufacturing at first teta-nus antitoxin followed by fluid
tetanus-.~ toxoid. The company has""'¥""'h steadily expanded
its,CUum product portfolio and by
1999 was recognized asthe largest producer ofmeasles and DTP
vac-cines in the world. Theyear 200 1 saw the SerumInstitute launch
the in-digenously manufac-tured recombinant Hepa-titis-B vaccine;
in 2002the BCG vaccine, in 2004the first indigenously de-veloped
Human Diploid
Cell rabies vaccine... The company alsocommenced in 1997 the
export of anti-cancer products, as per company sourcesand
information available on its websitewww.serurninstitute.com
Dr M. K. Bhan, secretary, Depart-ment of Biotechnology,
Governmentof India, presented the Person of theYear award to
Poonawalla on Decem-ber 10,2004 at a function in Bangaloreattended
by "over 320 key officials
42 Pars;anaFebruary2005
-
region ofRs 800 crore. Further informa-tion is available on www.
spbiotechpark.com
strategic joint venture with the Denmark-based Centre for
Clinical and Basic Re-search (CCBR) and its subsidiary
NordicBiosciences. A vesthagen, a premier In-dian biotechnology and
bioinformaticscompany founded by entrepreneur-sci-entist Villoo
Morawala Patell in Banga-lore around five years ago, will work
withCCBR on a wide array of aspects cover-ing the diagnosis,
treatment and preven-tion of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis,
aleading healthcare problem in rapidly ag-ing populations,
including the Parsis, indeveloped and developing countries.
Speaking about the tie-up, Dr ClausChristiansen, founder and
chief executiveofficer, CCBR, said: "We are happy to tie-up with A
vesthagen;this partnership will becrucial to jumpstartingthe
Indo-Danish col-laboration in the biotechindustry ," reports
Bio-Spectrum's December2004 issue.
PharmamajorCipla Patell: colla-and A vesthagen have borating
withexpanded the scope of Denmarktheir ongoing biothera-
peutics development program to includenext generation drugs that
cater to theoncology and cardiovascular segments.The expansion is a
sequel to the successesin the ongoing program between the
twocompanies in autoimmune disorders andoncology that was announced
earlier inMay 2004, reports BioSpectrum' sJ anuary2005 issue.
Outstanding ZarathushtisWhile the World Zarathushti Chamber
ofCommerce (WZCC) has announced its"Outstanding Zarathushti" 2003
awardsin the 'entrepreneur' and 'professional'categories,
nominations have alreadybeen invited for tlie awards for the
year2004 in the same categories. Its websitewww .wzcc.net mentions
March 31,2005as the last date for receiving nominationsin the
prescribed format which is avail-able on their website.
For2003..FarrokhR. Patel of USA wasthe "Outstanding Zarathushti
Entrepre-neur,"Prof(Dr) Zarin R. TurelofBombaythe "Outstanding
Zarathushti Profes-sional," and Zenobia and Zubin Tantraof USA the
"Outstanding Young Zara-thushti
Professional/Entrepreneur."Prominent Bombay businessman PallonjiS.
Mistry ofShapoorji Pallonji and Com-pany has been recognized as
"EminentZarathushti Businessman Worldwide,"according to the reports
posted on theWZCC website.
Patel began his career with UnionCarbide in India and USA. In
1982, hestarted Pegasus Products Incorporated,a custom swimming
pool liner fabricationcompany "where the sales in the firstyear
alone exceeded a quarter of a milliondollars. In 1992, Patel formed
the CoverCompany manufacturing pool safety cov-ers. In 2003,
Pegasus occupied a 40,000sq ftprofessionalofficecomplexand...
a55,000 sq ft production facility." In 2000,Patel formed Breeze
Corporation whichsells free standing above ground swim-ming pool
kits. Patel is also a consultantin addition to managing 30
full-time em-ployees and 15 seasonal employees. "Hiscommunity
service includes outsourcingwork through a work-study pro~ram
for
AP's first biotech parkThe first specialized biotech park
inAndhra Pradesh (AP) is being devel-oped near Hyderabad by
ShapoorjiPallonji Biotech Park Private Limited(SPBP). Covering 300
acres, it is beingdeveloped as a joint venture with the
APgovernment. The Park already has 17companies of whichsix are US
basedResearch and Devel-opment units. Withthe government of-fering
several fiscal
benefits, investmentby companies in thetwo phases is ex-pected
to be in the i I
Shapoorji PallonjiBiotech Parkunder develop-ment
Leading clinical servicesDr Ferzaan Engineer, chief executive
of-
ricer, Quintiles Research (India) PrivateLimited (which is a
large contract re-search organization conducting clinical
trials) received the BioServices Companyof the Year 2004 award
fromE. Abraham
Mathew, chief editor,
BioSpectrum. Speakingat a panel discussionprior to the award
pre-
sentation,Engineersaid:"In the last seven years,we have been
seeing in-
Engineer: creasing interest in clini-leading cal trials and a
lot of in-bioservices ternational work hascompany been coming to
India.
Particularly in the lastone or two years, we have seen a
strate-gic shift (of) clinical work being moved torelatively new
geographies and India isone of the most important geographies.I am
concerned that our regulatory infra-structure may not catch up as
quickly asone would like... we need to come up witha single window
(regulatory) systemwhich is fast, transparent, efficient
andscience-based, with a pace and vigor tomake us globally
competitive and meetexpectations of public trust."
Dr Narges Mahaluxmivala is presi-dent, Clinical Development
Services,Quintiles Research (India), a leader in theclinical
research segment in the country,with experience in over 90 clinical
studiesinvolving more than 600sites and 13,000 pa-tients.
"Regulatory au-thorities in the US andin Europe are acceptingdata
which have a sub-stantial proportion fromIndia and three trials
Mahaluxmi-conducted by us solely vala: grow-in India have been ac-
ing clinicalcepted by the US FDA research(Food and Drug Admin-
servicesistration) as part of alarger program... Clinical research
in In-diais at a relatively nascent stage, but thepotential for
growth is enormous in allaspects," Mahaluxmivala told BioSpec-trum
which has listed Quintiles Research(India) among its Top 20
companies.Quintiles has offices in Ahmedabad,Bombay and
Bangalore.
Avesthagen tie-upsA vestha Gengraine Technologies Pri-vate
Limited (see "The lady and the lab,"
Parsiana, November 200 1) announced a
43 Parsiana February 2005
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Outstanding-a school for disadvantaged!children," including
being amember of the board, as wellas fundraising, states a write-
Iup from the WZCC, Patel hasalso been active in the forma-
Ition of the Zoroastrian Asso-ciation of Greater New Yorkand in
activities of the darbe-
Imeher,
Turel has "outstandingachievements in the field of Inuclear
chemistry and radio-chemistry, (She) has been a pioneer inthe
multidisciplinary field of neutron ac-tivation analysis as a
potential tool,"states WZCC. Recently retired as pro-fessor and
head of nuclear chemistry,Institute of Science, Bombay, Turel
iscurrently dean of the science faculty,HSNC Board, Bombay, Turel
has pub-lished more than 175 research papersand made presentations
in countries likeJapan, UK, USA, Belgium. Denmark, Swe-den and
Brazil. Her research contribu-tions are in areas of medicine
(cancerresearch), environmental and agricul-ture studies and
geology. Among thenumerous accolades she has receivedare the All
India Institute of MedicalSciences Silver Jubilee Award, the
Best
outlets, already popularlyrecognized as the'~ '
Pump), stated Yogesh
sion of the Chapter's annual.-
35 lakhs and "
rise to help set up the fuel outlets.Petrol pumps and gas
stations-.
Baniel in San Rafael,California" in 1997. He Ihas been a
licensedphysical therapist inthe Chicago area since1992 and his
areas of ,special interest are or- ithopedic and neuro- Turel:
out-logic physical therapy. standing inZubinhasgreatexperi-
nuclearence in working with chemistry
patients followingjointreplacement in wound care and in
move-ment disorders like Parkinson's Disease,dystonia and
strokes.
Zenobia Tantra' s special interest in-cludes management of
patients with softtissue injuries and fibromyalgia. Shegraduated
from the University of Illinoisin Chicago in 1997 and completed
herinternship at the University of Chicago,Copley Memorial and
Riverdale MedicalCenter where she worked with patientswith acute
and chronic back injuries anda variety of orthopedic cases.
Zenobiawas selected in 1994 in the Who's Whoof students in American
colleges anduniversities. She is also a member of theGolden Keys
National Honors Society.
in the popularity of this business.., ..'
oil companies like Reliance, EssarOil,etc1making an entry, the
business is seeing'
a new energy, with even the PSU (publicsector undertakings)
shedding some oftheir complacency. The new age gasstations provide
a host of other opportu-
Inities like convenience stores, A TMcounters, Internet services
and food out-,lets, besides auto service and repair~, Iadds the
WZCCI. Raman Pandya, presl- tdent of Essar Oil, answered questions
1from the audience regarding the Essar 1
proposal. ..
Teacher of Bombay University awardand the Dr M. V. Ramaniah
LifetimeAchievemenfAward.
"They have grown their enterprisefrom one physical therapy
clinic to four(with a fifth in the works) in just fiveyears,"
states the WZCC, commendingZubin and Zenobia Tantra' s
profession-alism and entrepreneurial spirit. Graduat-ing from
Bombay University in PhysicalTherapy, Zubin "became a Guild
Certi-fied Peldenkrais Practitioner from Ant
The WZCC also states that its MiddleEast chapter "has come
forward to de-velop a WZCC Journal." The first issueis expected in
February 2005 and "theteam is working hard towards making it
aquarterly." Initially, the WZCC will belooking for sponsors for
eachissue. The Journal committee is Iunder the supervision and
di-rection of Me her Bhesania, chap-ter chair, Middle East
region.The WZCC also has buddingchapters in Australia and
Paki-stan.
~
Dhawan (left) being felici-tated by Kersi Limathwalla
44 Parsiana February 2005
-
tomers," commends Singh. "The re-sponse from the young as well
as olderpeople has been encouraging. We havereceived excellent
feedback. Customerstell us that our designs are well appreci-ated,
with acquaintances inquiring 'wherehave you bought this outfit
from?'" ob-serves Irani.Singh and the
Cottons storein Bombay
ghoongroos,scarves, stoles,cloth bags. You
...can mix andmatch the way you like -traditional orfunky,
casual or chic, depends on yourchoice. Small embellishments
likebeadwork, sequins or embroidery add atouch of class, without
going over thetop. Weare hoping to do saris in the nearfuture," she
adds.
Singh began her business (see "Coolin Cottons," Parsiana, August
2002) withchildren's clothes. "The market for child-ren's clothing
is limited and peoplewanted me to go into apparel for adults.We
catered to a niche market in Jaipurwhen we opened five years ago.
Therewere high-end boutiques or run of themill bazaar stuff,
nothing in between forthe middle class. Our product, with itssimple
cut and good finish, appeals to thediscerning shopper," she
remarks.
Cottons does not use either plastic orpaper bags at the delivery
counter. Out-fits are handed over to the customer incloth bags made
from leftover material bywomen in Jaipur. With a popular outlet
inthe Greater Kailash area in Delhi, "Cot-tons ka thela (delivery
bags of Cottons)are quite well-known in Delhi," shelaughs. Clients
include celebrities likeRajmata Gayatri Devi ofJaipur, film
stars,socialites and upcoming stars from thetelevision world too.
Garments are tai-lored and dispatched to the three retailstores
(Jaipur, Delhi and Bombay) fromtheir Indiawear manufacturing base
inJaipur. Managing the Bombay store isMahrukh Irani. "She's great
with cus-
Aspi Katgara, general manager of TheZoroastrian Co-operative
Bank Limited,commended the WZCCI for its efforts topromote business
opportunities. Katgarainvited entrepreneurs to take full advan-tage
of credit facilities available fromZoroastrian Bank but cautioned
bud-ding businessmen to consider newprojects carefully and not jump
in reck-lessly, so that they do not put their ownand lenders' funds
to risk. Bombay Parsi
PunchayetchiefexecutiveofficerBehramDastur mentioned that he
would presentto the Federation of Parsi ZoroastrianAnjumans of
India the possibility of ex-ploring the utilization of land
outsideBombay owned by outstation anjumansfor setting up gas
stations.
The accounts of the WZCCIMumbaichapter for the year 2003-04 had
beenmerged with the India Chamber and therewere no separate
financial reports pre-pared during the year 2003-04 for theMumbai
chapter, treasurer Yazdi Tantrainformed the members at the AGM.
Compiled by Hilla P. Guzder
Casual and classy"They come in to buy one, go out buyingthree,"
says J aipur' s Behroze Singh, talk-ing about customers frequenting
her re-cently opened shop Cottons on Chow-patty Sea Face in Bombay.
"Our pricesare reasonable, we give good value formoney."
Wi th emphasis on the ethnic, Cottonsstocks a variety of long
and short kurtas,sal wars, kurtis, dupattas,patialas, tops, crushed
skirts,etc for ladies and kurtas,pyjamas, churidars for gents.While
90 percent of the thrustis on cotton, chiffon dupattasand a few
items in georgette orsilk are available, says Singh."We cater for
the completelook -silver jewelry, jootis,
Emerald Isle villa at Gholvad .
,46 Parsiana February 2005
Emerald enclave"Gholvad is an ecologically fragile area,no
industries are allowed and the air ispollution free," says Rohinton
Batliwalawho is developing a residential complexof villas and
apartments known as Emer-ald Isle. Surrounded by orchards ofchikoo,
coconut, litchee and mango, theenclave is within five minutes walk
ofGholvad's beach, as well as the railwaystation, market, etc, he
notes.
With Gholvad in Thana district justthree hours away from Bombay
by roador rail, the independent and semi de-tached villas and 12
apartments are suit-able as permanent residences for peopleafter
retirement or as a weekend holidayhome, says Batliwala who is
developinga part of his ancestral property. The villasare spacious
with three bedrooms; theflats in the two-storied building are
smallerand of varying sizes. The RCC (rein-forced cement concrete)
sloping roof istopped with mangalore tiles in keepingwith the rural
surroundings.
With a planned lagoon pool, land-scaped common and private
gardens, thecomplex will have common maintenancefacilities for
cleaning and gardening, se-curity guards and 24 hours running
wa-ter, states the Emerald Isle brochure." Asample unit is ready. I
have a full-timeman there who will show you around,"says Batliwala,
adding that Gholvad andnearby Dahanu have several Zoroas-trian
families as well as an adarian atBordi. The project's web site
iswww .emeraldisle gholvad.com