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

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