Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics PDF 2021

59 Chapter 4 Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics: A Walk Down the Lane Learning the Attributes of a Successful Bioentrepreneur Vaishali Nitin Paul...

59 Chapter 4 Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics: A Walk Down the Lane Learning the Attributes of a Successful Bioentrepreneur Vaishali Nitin Paul LCIT College of Commerce and Science, India Arundhati Mehta Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, India Shivangi Mudaliar LCIT College of Commerce and Science, India ABSTRACT From the beginning of humanity, people have relied on the usage of biotech-based products. Bioentrepreneurship or BioE is the drive of knowledge and innovation, traveling from academic world to industrial platform. In contrast to enterprise, bio-enterprise is the amalgamation of bioscience with business by the application of biological concepts or scientific entities for the benefit and the creation of a corporation. It is a strictly monitored industry because of involved scientific risks, time demands, and ethical clearance, as well as requiring huge capital. Every successful entrepreneur showcases certain traits that they have inculcated or relied on to build their business. These traits are not mere skills, but are the qualities that contribute in becoming an ideal bio-entrepreneur. The chapter deals with striking features of bio-entrepreneurs that have made them a conglomerate of global standard and play an es- sential role in making them leaders. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7411-9.ch004 Copyright © 2021, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.  Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics INTRODUCTION Biotechnology can be defined as an interdisciplinary branch of biology involving the use of living organisms to develop or make products intended for the use of humans and its interest (Amarakoon et al., 2017; Steiner, 2020). To a layman, biotechnology is the amalgamation of biology with the modern technologies aimed at making our lives easier. Biotechnology is correlated to the field of medicine, agriculture, diagnostics, food and beverage industry etc. where it facilitates the production of biotechno- logically significant products (Singh et al., 2016). Many of these applications related to these fields have posed as a perfect opportunity for commercialization of the technique or the end product. Biotechnology is the process of industrialization of living organisms, using any of the following techniques such as Genetic engineering, enzyme engineering, etc. (Gupta et al., 2016). Due to its potential for creation of new products via different processes, biotechnology has emerged as a key tool for the acceleration of economic development of any developing nation. An individual who creates a new business opportunity by investing into an idea and executing it all the way to a commercial product, bearing most of the risks is called an entrepreneur. According to Jo- seph Schumpeter’s vision, “the function of the entrepreneur is to reform or revolutionise the pattern of production by exploiting an invention or, more generally, an untried technological method of producing a new commodity or producing an old one in new way, opening a new source of supply of materials or a new outlet for products, by organizing a new industry” (Bull & Willard, 1993). Due to the initiatives of the government, entrepreneurs are also moving towards Biotechnology for a sustainable business. According to Segen’s Medical Dictionary, Bioentrepreneur is a person who is the driving force behind a start-up biotechnology company holding key patents or has performed the fundamental scientific work which underpins the company. (Tajonar, 2014). According to Global Market Insights, Inc., biotechnology market value would be worth $729 billion by 2025 (Global Market Insights, 2021). Many researchers and investors have metamorphosized into becoming a bio entrepreneur with a small idea and have made it successful with a workplan. The enthusiasm showed by the governments have been one of the major factors that have been a crucial push amongst entrepreneurs to establish a start-up venture in this field and put an economic footprint on a country’s growth rate (Table 1). Every successful bioentrepreneur displays a set of values that put them on a pedestal of success. This chapter deals with all those characteristics that an individual should possess for becoming a successful bio entrepreneur. This chapter will also trace the journey of success for few such bio entrepreneurs who displayed all these qualities. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A SUCCESSFUL BIOENTREPRENEUR? Many studies and research have been conducted to investigate various traits that has been considered to promote an individual to choose entrepreneurship as career choice and become successful. Various studies found that the effectiveness of an entrepreneur’s action relies on accompanying mental qualities such as establishment, inspiration, perseverance, endurance, behaviour at the time of failure, intensity etc. (Bagodi, 2021). These qualities decide if an individual has innovative capacities later on or not. These examinations recommend that simple financial fitness isn’t sufficient to portray the wonder of business, distinguished and mental models for a successful business (Brady & Saranga, 2013). 60 Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics Table 1. Detailed list of biotechnology companies along with their founders and/or CEO’s Originated in Name of the company Founder / CEO’s Product manufactured (Country) Oncoqr Christof Langer & Geert C Mudde Austria Adjustable cancer immunotherapy Biomay Hans Huber & Angela Neubauer Austria Recombinant allergens Nabriva Therapeutics Ted Schroeder Austria Pleuromutilins against multi-drug resistant pathogens Tissuegnostics Rupert Ecker Austria Quantitative analysis of tissue images Haplogen Dr Georg Casari Austria Haploid genetics tool Austrianova Dr. Brian Salmons Austria Bioinert polymer encapsulation Biotechnology Horizon Discovery Terry Pizzie Austria Genetically-defined cell lines Valneva Thomas Lingelbach Austria Innovative vaccines against infectious diseases Biocrates Dr. Nicolas Schaue Austria Metabolic phenotyping solutions Management and new technologies development and Manetco Tanguy Van Regemorter Belgium implementation Immunxperts Sofie Pattijn Belgium Immunogenicity assessment Oncurious Patrick De Haes Belgium Treating medulloblastoma Biocartis Herman Verrelst Belgium Molecular diagnostics solutions Amplycell Geoffrey Holsbeek Belgium Optimizing monoclonal antibody production Oncodna Jean -Pol Detiffe Belgium Deep sequencing of tumor DNA Integrated Dna Trey Martin Belgium Custom oligonucleotides Technologies Oxyrane WouterVervecken Belgium Enzyme replacement therapies Active Motif Joe Fernandes Belgium Epigenetic research Diagenode Didier Allaer Belgium Epigenetics solutions Switchgear Genomics Nathan Trinklein Belgium Genomic regulation Ebioscience Todd R Nelson Belgium Immunology reagents Biogazelle Jan Hellemans Belgium Transcriptome sequencing services Syngene Jonathan Hunt Cyprus Gel imaging and analysis systems Lentikat LudekKarasek Czech Republic Biocatalyst: encapsulation of enzymes or microorganisms Bavarian Nordic Paul Chaplin Denmark Poxviral-based vaccine Thomas Knudsen, Founder & Ex- Clc Bio Denmark Sequence analysis software Ceo, Bjarne Knudsen, Founder Taconic Biosciences Robert Phelan Denmark Research model provider Expres2ion Bent U. Frandsen Denmark Production in drosophila s2 cells Biotechnologies Barentzymes Jan Buch Andersen, Sigurd Aase Denmark Enzyme based solution Immunodiagnostic Jaap Stuut Denmark Vitamin d determination Systems Chemometec Steen Søndergaard Denmark High-speed cell counting Agilebio Pierre Rodrigues France Collaborative tools that enhance research productivity IddBiotec Hélène Rouquette France Differentiated therapeutic mabs Poietis Fabien Guillemot France 4d Bioprinting Synthelis Bruno Tillier France Cell-free system Antabio Marc Lemonnier France Next generation of antibacterial drugs continues on following page 61  Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics Table 1. Continued Originated in Name of the company Founder / CEO’s Product manufactured (Country) Novaptech Marine Faussillon-Laville France Development of aptamers GEG-Tech Nicolas Grandchamp France Vectorization systems Pep Therapy – Antoine Prestat France Innovative peptides as targeted therapies for oncology Neurosys Yann Jaudouin France Drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases Oncodesign Philippe Genne France Preclinical evaluation of anticancer therapies Invectys Pierre LangladeDemoyen France Therapeutic cancer vaccine Proteogenix Philippe Funfrock France Services in molecular biology and immunology Cellectis – André Choulika France Gene-editing Valneva Thomas Lingelbach France Innovative vaccines against infectious diseases 3d Matrix Keiji Nagano France Synthetic extracellular matrix Biotek Dr Norman Alpert France Microplate instrumentation and software Biolife Mike Rice France Enzymatic extraction Nvh Medicinal David Vandroux France New generation of collagen-based products Cytena Jonas Schöndube Germany Single cells on demand Bavarian Nordic Paul Chaplin Germany Poxviral-based vaccine GnaBiosolutions Lars Ullerich Germany Ultra-fast laser heating of nanoparticles Insphero Dr. Jan Lichtenber Germany Organotypic 3D cell culture models Herolab Nick Etemadipour Germany Universal benchtop centrifuges Lophius Biosciences Bernd Merkl Germany Early diagnosis and immunomonitoring Probiogen Lutz Hilbrich Germany Intelligent biopharma solutions Chromotek Marion Jung Germany Single domain camel antibodie Cytena Jonas Schöndube Germany Single cell separation Abnova Wilber Huang Germany Innovation through integrated solutions Isarna Therapeutics Philippe Calais Germany Selective TGF-β inhibitor Schrodinger Ramy Farid Germany Advanced molecular simulations Synaptic Systems Henrik Martens Germany Antibodies for neuroscience and cell biology Artes Biotechnology Michael Piontek Germany Expression platform Biogenes Alexander Knoll Germany Host cell protein assay development Ebioscience Todd R. Nelson Germany Immunology reagents Prof. Dr. Peter Krawitz, Dr. Tom Genetalk Germany Expert knowledge portal for human sequence variants Kamphans Cristal Therapeutics Axel Mescheder Netherland Next generation nanomedicines Pharmacell Alexander Vos Netherland Cell therapy and regenerative medicine cmo Cimaas Gerard Bos Netherland Cellular immunotherapy Amarna Steen Klysner Netherland Next-generation viral vector platform Agendia René Bernards Netherland Decoding cancer Applikon Biotechnology Arthur Oudshoorn Netherland Advanced bioreactor systems Selvita BoguslawSieczkowski Poland Accelerating drug discovery Cebiotex Joan Bertran Spain Drug delivery with electrospun nanofiber technology Mint Labs Paulo Rodrigues Spain Neuroimaging in the cloud continues on following page 62 Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics Table 1. Continued Originated in Name of the company Founder / CEO’s Product manufactured (Country) Chemotargets Dr. Scott Boyer Spain Predicting the target and safety profile of small molecules Amarna Steen Klysner Spain Next-generation viral vector platform Ysios Capital Joël Jean-Mairet Spain Private equity for biotech and biopharma companies Sygnis Pilar De La Huerta Spain Innovative polymerases TIB Molbiol Olfert Landt Spain Custom synthesis of oligonucleotides Readycell Josep Oriol Nicolás I Pallejà Spain Easing your screening Merozyne EskilSöderlind Sweden Muscular dystrophy Biotage Tomas Blomquist Sweden Instruments for analytical, organic and peptide chemistry Bioinvent Martin Welschof Sweden Antibody drug discovery Saromics Björn Walse Sweden Structure-based drug design Gyros Dan Calvo Sweden Miniaturized immunoassays Denator Ulf Järnberg Sweden Stabilizing the proteome Biothema Karsten Pedersen Sweden Luminescent assays Newron Pharmaceuticals Luca Benatti Switzerland Innovative therapies for central nervous system Biognosys Oliver Rinner Switzerland Next-generation proteomics Insphero – Jan Lichtenberg Switzerland Organotypic 3d cell culture models Mymetics Ronald Kempers Switzerland Virosomes based vaccines Crispr Therapeutics – Samarth Kulkarni Switzerland Crispr-cas9 genome-editing Calypso Biotech Alain Vicari Switzerland Auto-immune diseases Amsbio Alex Sim Switzerland Tissue products Capital Cell Daniel Oliver UK Life science equity crowdfunding platform Scancell Cliff Holloway UK Innovative immunobody Inivata Clive Morris UK Non-invasive tumour analysis from circulating dna Cupid Peptides Jonny Ryves UK Cell permeable peptides Crownbio Dr. Armin Spura UK Cancer immunotherapy and xenograft models Applikon Biotechnology Arthur Oudshoorn UK Advanced bioreactor systems Motif Bio Graham George Lumsden UK Antibiotics against multi-drug resistant bacteria Twistdx Ruth Powell UK Isothermal dna and rna amplification technology Adaptimmune Adrian (Ad) Rawcliffe UK Engineered, increased affinity t cell receptors Immunodiagnostic Jaap Stuut UK Vitamin d determination Systems Syngene Jonathan Hunt UK Gel imaging and analysis systems Biorbyt Qun Yang UK Custom peptide synthesis Roslin Cells Aiden Courtney UK Pluripotent stem cells Lumora Laurence Tisi UK Innovative molecular diagnostics Biomarin Jean-Jacques Bienaimé UK Therapies for rare genetic diseases Valneva Thomas Lingelbach UK Innovative vaccines against infectious diseases Fortebio Joe Keegan UK Analytical systems for biomolecular interactions Bmg Labtech Robert Mount UK Microplate readers Oxyrane WouterVervecken UK Enzyme replacement therapies continues on following page 63  Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics Table 1. Continued Originated in Name of the company Founder / CEO’s Product manufactured (Country) Asterand Martyn Coombs UK Human tissue and biofluids Gentronix John Nicholson UK Genotoxicity assays Immunocore BahijaJallal UK T cell receptor-based drugs Clc Bio David Leangen Japan Sequence analysis software Prior Scientific Thomas Freda Japan Microscope automation Valneva Thomas Lingelbach Japan Innovative vaccines against infectious diseases Bmg Labtech Thomas Räbiger Japan Microplate readers Active Motif Ted Defrank Japan Epigenetic research Clontech Kazuki Yamamoto Japan Cloning tools Protein Simple Tim Harkness Japan Powering protein research 3d Matrix Keiji Nagano Japan Synthetic extracellular matrix Activx Shigeru Ogihara Japan In-situ kinase profiling Origene Wei-Wu China Gene company Switchgear Genomics Nathan Trinklein China Genomic regulation Protein Simple Tim Harkness China Powering protein research Hytest JuhanaRauramo China Antibody development for cardiac markers Ascletis Jinzi Jason Wu China Rnai therapeutic Xcelris Genomics Dushyant Singh Baghel India Nucleic acid purification kits Syngene Jonathan Hunt India Gel imaging and analysis systems Biogenex Krishan L. Kalra India Cell and tissue staining Biocon Kiran Majumdar Shaw India Delivering affordable innovation Toolgen Jongmoon Kim Korea Genome engineering Panagene Sung Kee Kim Korea Pna technologies Aptsci Sung Ho Ryu Korea Aptamer solutions Nanoentek Sung Ho Ryu Korea Live cell imaging systems Kapa Biosystems Paul Mcewan Africa Enzyme solutions Synexa Life Sciences Paul O’riordan Africa Biomarker expertise Biotech Africa Dr AlexioCapovilla Africa Eradicating disease through early and innovative diagnostics Entrepreneurs under the conditions of uncertainty make use of their knowledge, skills and identi- fies the opportunity to have a socio-economic value (Sucharitha & Venkateswarlu, 2012). Even though the financial worth shows in new items or administrations, new causes of provisions, techniques for creation, business sectors, or potentially news associations, can cumulatively contribute in the yield of the business cycle. An entrepreneur is the one having multiple dimensions in his or her characters that can make a dis- tinction. Here we are listing some of these attributes commonly found: 1. Passion: For a successful bioentrepreneur, passion is one of the most important traits. Being pas- sionate means he or she has a strong belief in their respective ideas and vision. This belief gives 64 Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics them the energy to drive their work consistently and making them optimistic with a clear vision for their goals ultimately resulting in success. 2. Creative mind (out of the box thinking): A creative mind or a creative way of presenting their ideas is also an imperative quality in a bioentrepreneur. The ability to enhance revenue, a bioentrepreneur must-have skills and innovative ideas which could be different, cost-effective, and eco-friendly. For being a bioentrepreneur one should think out of the box because this innovation only will lead to their success (Horoszowski, 2021). 3. Risk Taker: Every idea rises from an innovation and an ability to look at that potential with pros and cons can be termed as risk factor analysis. The business visionary should be set up to survey the danger that undermines its business exercises and take it for themselves (Jessica Leitch, 2021). Facing challenge likewise affirms the reality to begin another movement leading to the prize i.e., generation of revenue. 4. Achiever: The requirement for accomplishment alludes to a person’s craving for critical achievement, dominating of aptitudes, and achieving testing objectives. Specialists estimate that entrepreneurs may hold a serious requirement for accomplishment, as building a business without any preparation shows one’s capacities in manners that are regularly difficult to coordinate when working inside a framework in which duty is diffused (Phạm, 2021). 5. Challenge themselves: The ability of an individual to set apart from the hostile environment and setting the hostilities into the path of success by moving out of their comfort zone. The attitude of pushing themselves physically, mentally, and socially is what makes them strong. It makes them better able to deal with the issues that we all face in life with an active mind and positive attitude. 6. Opportunistic: A good entrepreneur has those “opportunistic glasses” from which they can identify opportunities in every situation. They look at the things and circumstances with an entrepreneurial mindset they can identify opportunities in just about every situation around them. This opportunity tends to be in the niches, and as the old saying goes, the riches are in the niches. Once they find a niche, they are even better at solving problems for people in that niche. They generally scan the environment which leads to more generalized business opportunities. 7. Familiar with technology: A bioentrepreneur needs to have proper knowledge of the technology and the source from where they can have it. Interestingly enough, many of these incredible entre- preneurs are techno Neanderthals, but that never stopped them from believing in the importance of it (Örnek & Danyal, 2015). Nor does it stop them from investing vast sums of money into tech- nology to do what they do better. It is that belief that is more important than their skills. As new technology becomes available, they will try it, invest in it, and see how it can make their business and their life more on par with what they want to achieve. 8. Innovator: According to Schumpeter, the one who brings a new combination to the market is the entrepreneur, this newness can be introduced in the market by producing new goods or by creating new production methods that are new to the market. An entrepreneur is probably going to be pulled in to continually changing conditions and the oddity of new difficulties. People who flourish with difficulties and novel conditions are the individuals who present inventive arrangements. The in- troduction of new ideas, products, or services, the management process to be developed in business models and introduced on the market. In the questionable and high climate of latest pursuit creation, numerous specialists speculate that business visionaries flourish with a solid feeling of individual self-viability to execute their dreams and a pointy eye for development to acknowledge new items 65  Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics and markets. Self-viability portrays a person’s conviction that he/she can perform undertakings and satisfy jobs, and is straightforwardly identified with desires, objectives, and inspiration. 9. Management skill: it is the basic pillar for any company to stand on. Without any managerial ca- pabilities, the transformation of a technological opportunity into a selling product can’t occur. One with good management skills will possess an optimistic attitude towards authorities, they have the quality that helps them to represent their units higher. A manager must be a great competitor, he or she must compete for themselves as well as for their company and this will help them to perform better in the pyramidal nature of the hierarchic organization. Along with this, they will be good at supervising others in their work, all these activities will help one to do various tasks responsibly and a good manager has the zeal to do what the job requires. 10. Capital: Initially a biotech company can’t have much of the resources so they have to have a good knowledge of different sources that could help them in their company set-up. Many biotechnology companies have faced failures because of undercapitalization. It is the need for an entrepreneur to strategize their energies and spend it wisely in cultivating financial resources for their startups. Running a biotech company needs a huge number of technical assets and assets to cost a huge amount. That’s why Elmar Maler, CEO of GPC Biotech said “Raising money when it is available, not when needed”. So, a bio entrepreneur must have an eagle’s eye on the opportunities available regarding capital and should grab it early. ISSUES FACED BY A BIOENTREPRENEUR Biotechnology is said to be one of the fastest growing sectors due to its vast scope for incubation, in- novation and entrepreneurship. The indigenous biotechnology sector of India has transformed and meta- morphosized, making the country a hub for biopharmaceuticals industry (Sibanda, 2021). Despite the biotechnology industry’s rapid emergence in India, critical gaps remain as obstacles for development. There are a few hurdles that a bioentrepreneur must come through to establish an enterprise with long term growth and sustainability. 1. Unskilled labour Entrepreneurs find it difficult to get skilled manpower as there lies a huge gap between the industrial requirements and the training received during university level education. 2. Regulatory restrictions In India, the regulatory framework and various hierarchy in bureaucratic organizations and processes hinders the process where biological molecules can be transformed into domestic generic equivalents without significant legal repercussions. 3. Under-Estimation of risk factors Even though each new wave of start-ups appears to improve on the past, biotech companies consistently overestimate their projected revenues and underestimate the time to breakeven. However, given increas- 66 Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics ing private investment in R&D and impetus by recent policy reforms, there is an immense potential for growth, especially in segments such as biopharmaceuticals, bio services, and agriculture. 4. Gap between revenue investment and time frames Long development cycles and underestimation of risk have resulted in the destruction of capital and assets for a biotech firm. Most companies focused on achieving milestones specific to product develop- ment, financing and strategic alliances whilst losing the sight of what could be the end goal of a business venture: profit. 5. Intellectual property hassles The issues of intellectual property have constituted the main deterrent for the growth of the Indian biotechnology industry. After the Patent Amendments Act in 2005, Indian patent laws have a few obscure issues such as the patentability of new use of a known substance remains to be fully settled. The major implementation of foreign ventures investing in the Indian Biotechnology sector also remains in disdain. Foreign venture capitalists are wary of insufficient patent protection and access to patent litigation in India. 6. Brain drains In pursuit of a better standard of living and quality of life, higher incomes, access to modern technolo- gies and more secure political conditions in various places around the world, brain drain is characterized as the movement of skilled workers. 7. Lack of awareness and mentorship The lack of awareness and mentorship starting from the fundamental step, pose as a crucial hindrance in setting forth an entrepreneurial culture in India. BIOENTREPRENEURSHIP SCENARIO IN INDIA While the biotechnology sector has attracted many investors and entrepreneurs alike but as creating self-sustaining profitable companies, the old models of the biotechnology have not been very success- ful. Long development cycles and underestimation of risk have resulted in the destruction of capital and assets for a biotech firm. Most companies focused on achieving milestones specific to product development, financing and strategic alliances whilst losing the sight of what could be the end goal of a business venture: profit. Despite India’s more advanced research base, significant advances have occurred in biotechnology companies in developed countries due to strong and persistent government support, favorable policies, venture capital availability and an ambitious workforce. In India, the expertise necessary for the imple- mentation of biological innovation in the Indian bio-pharmaceutical industry is vastly different and not yet available (Cauchon, Oghamian, Hassanpour, & Abernathy, 2021). Knowing and executing the criteria, 67  Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics minimizing the go-to-market time for goods and gaining a sustainable competitive edge internationally is the most interesting challenge ahead. In order to keep a biotech start-up ahead of all these crises, the policy structure and the right module lie in a basic business model covering the following bases: The business must produce viable goods effectively. The intellectual rights of the company must be defensible and any patents should not obstruct the product commercialization route of your company. To make a substantial profit, there must be a simple and visionary business plan or approach. In order to target a huge and fast expanding global market, the business should be smart enough. To execute the business strategy, the management should be reasonably competent and have shrewd skills. In turn, a stable regulatory climate and a vibrant domestic biotech sector will help India create a base to appear in international discussions on biotech-related issues as a more influential voice. In order to improve and streamline its biotech regulatory contraption, India must take constructive steps; facilitate the commercialization of biotech advances; and encourage inclusive domestic dialogue to create greater public awareness of biotechnology, relevant standards and baseline practices. Also, owing to the brain drain from the finest colleges, professional work gets a low ranking. Many of India’s best-educated scientists are leaving for even higher wages in the United States and Europe than are required in India. In addition to the Start-up India umbrella program, which supports the generation of start-ups in all sectors, a wide variety of experimental programmes and services is launched by the ministries of the Government of India and Departments to promote a creativity and entrepreneurship community. Those programs include the financing of schemes such as proof-of-concept, validation, contract analy- sis, infrastructure, support, mentoring, intellectual property rights support etc. Recognizing the role of women’s entrepreneurship and economic participation in facilitating the development and development of the country, by providing access to credit, networks, markets and training, the government also seeks to bring women to the forefront of India’s business ecosystem. Because of its inherent strengths, such as the abundance of rich bio-resources, technological skills, trained labour, ambitious government policies and rapidly expanding access to foreign markets, India is in an advantageous position to exploit the potential of biotechnology (Cvele, 2021). Promotion of the Indian biotechnology industry is high on the Government of India’s policy agenda. Biotechnology has been recognised as one of the main priority sectors within the context of ‘Make in India’ is one of the Government of India’s ‘Skill India’ and ‘Start-up India’ initiatives. Sustainable economic development and the generation of large-scale job opportunities are among the only industries on a strong growth trajectory. There is a critical need to improve the current biotech industries as well as build new biotech industries in order to meet the $100 billion target of the Indian biotech industry. Innovation-based entre- preneurship has tremendous potential for innovation. Given this context, it would be of utmost importance to facilitate and support self-employment as a career choice for young people. There are government funding sources that have been set up to expressly promote and finance in- novative innovations from the concept validation stage to the full-scale commercialization stage, in order to emphasize innovative R&D and support indigenous technologies by accelerated marketing. The national agencies such as Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Department of Science and Tech- nology (DST), the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), the Council of Scientific 68 Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics and Industrial Research (CSIR), Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO), Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), the Ministry of Micro Small Medium En- terprises (MSME), etc., have funded biotech companies and academia in various fields with a view to improving advanced research and development and technology. CASE STUDIES The above-mentioned traits/attributes can be better explained with the following case studies which shows the presence of more than one of such traits in these following bioentrepreneurs who have personified the phrase Rags to Riches: Biocon Limited Founder: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw CEO/ Chairperson: Siddharth Mittal Founded: 1978 (43 year ago) Industry: Biopharmaceutical “I managed to do things with a lot of common sense, a lot of determination, and a lot of foolish cour- age”. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Women in Chemistry, Science History Institute. Biocon Ltd. is an India based multinational biopharmaceutical firm founded by Kiran Mazumdar- Shaw, headquartered in Bangalore, that develops generic APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients), novel biotechnology and biosimilar products including insulins as well as antibodies (BBC, 2011; Biocon, 2010). Biocon is one of those prescient corporations that have conscious of change, shows adaptability and insightful in terms of growth opportunities, all under the eminent hands of its founder. As one of India’s forefront leaders in international circles, Shaw’s entrepreneurial trajectory embarks the tale of courage and perseverance (Kathuria, 2020). She has facilitated Biocon’s transformation from the production of industrial enzymes, to a highly integrated bio-pharmaceutical organization, with a ra- tional product market portfolio and an emphasis on research analysis on diabetes, autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and oncology (BloombergTV; Forbes, 2021; Levy, 2012; PTI, 2013). Shaw’s perception of “affordable innovation” invariably contributed to Biocon’s progress. Driven by the need for affordable/generic medicines, she has searched for ways to build cost efficient strategies and economical alternatives within the least wealthy countries (Estudio; Mazumdar-Shaw, 2014). Shaw, believes in the fixation of underlying root cause, favouring the concept of “compassionate capitalist” because she asserts that well implemented business models or marketing strategies would be a durable framework for sustainable revolutionary reform (Levy, 2012; Read et al., 2012). Apart from actively engaging in different biopharmaceutical sectors, Mazumdar- Shaw is involved in several educa- tion and health outreach programs like Arogya Raksha Yojna, public health campaigns (Queen of Heart) etc. (Desai, 2013; Pharmabiz.com, 2013; Pota, 2010). She addresses the significance of strengthening Indian infrastructure by highlighting the necessity to tackle issue such as efficient democratic account- ability, malnutrition, health deprivation and job development (Pota, 2010) Shaw holds true essence of hard work, loyalty, integrity and endurance. She often highlights to learn the art of endurance as it boosts research stamina helping scaling up and make us less reluctant. She underlined that the genetic makeup of women is entrepreneurial in nature. they just have to find desire 69  Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics and confidence to do so. She acknowledges strongly that women have the capability to double the GDP in the country if they eventuate their entrepreneurial aspirations (Kathuria, 2020). Novartis International AG Founders: Johann Rudolf and Alexander Clavel CEO: Dr. Vasant Kalathur Narsimhan Founded: 1996 (24 years ago) Industry: Pharmaceuticals “One thing we know about human motivation is that people feel their best when they have a sense of purpose and a sense of autonomy”. Dr. Vasant Kalathur Narsimhan Novartis AG was founded as an autonomous venture from the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz (Novartis.in, 2021). It is a multinational Swiss pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in Basel, Swit- zerland (Novartis.in, 2021; The Seattle Times, 2018). The tale of Novartis is written on the unified fate of 3 enterprises of Basel: the chemicals and dyes business Geigy, built in the 1800s; the dyes industry, Ciba, established in 1859 and the chemical firm Sandoz, founded in 1886 (Novartis.in, 2021). These organizations conveyed a mutual hallmark on Novartis: a desire for the creation and commercialization of novel products which make a significant contribution to human development via scientific and health breakthroughs. Based on this legacy, Novartis’ technical expertise are now focused on combating the unfulfilled necessities of patients globally. Dr. Vas Narasimhan, a McKinsey alumni and successor of Joseph Jiminez stepped up to took the lead of Novartis, emerging as one of the Fortune 500’s youngest CEOs. He leads his business through a stra- tegic and cultural transition driven by innovative therapy and information science platforms (Dandekar & Sukumar, 2018; Phadnis, 2017). He believes that to be a successful leader, one must have an inspiration with a profound sense of intent and an intellectual curiosity. Jimenez used traditional business metrics progressively in Novartis for pharmaceutical cash flow, acquisitions and competitive bidding, trusting that its expertise in consumer commodities would improve the operations of Novartis. His cost-cutting efforts, which primarily concentrated on marketing and management, were consistently reduced by over one billion in 2010, and much higher than in 2011 (Staton, 2012). Since taking over as CEO in 2018, the company has executed strategic significant transactions worth over $70 billion (Mathew & Jayakumar, 2020). Vas leans on his student philosophical intellect when it refers to its approach of leadership and being an avid reader, he revealed that two paperbacks (books) namely, The classic 6th Century BC Chinese text (Tao Te Ching) and Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (Daniel Pink, 2009) have especially influenced him in his voice (Smale, 2020). Monsanto Company Founders: John Francis Queeny CEO: Hugh Grant Founded: 1901 (119 years ago) ~ Reformed in 2000 Defunct: 2018 (2 years ago) Industry: Agribusiness “I put a lot of value and focus on getting management directly involved with people at all levels in the organization.” ~ Hugh Grant 70 Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics The Monsanto Company was an American agricultural biotechnology and agrochemical corporation which was recently procured by Bayer becoming a part of its crop science department in 2018. It had it premises in Creve Coeur, Missouri, U.S. Monsanto launched crackdown, a glyphosate-based herbicide, and became a major producer of genetically modified crops. Also, this was one of the pioneer firms to use the innovations devised by biotechnology pharmaceutical industries and to adopt biotech business model/ prototype for agriculture sector (Leonard-Barton & Pisano, 1990). The archetypes of Monsanto in farming reforms, biotech products, the coalition of federal agencies and its backbone as a chemical business contribute to a variety of disputes (Paull, 2018). Until the acquisition by Bayer, Hugh Grant served as the last business executive of the Monsanto and has been ranked to the top 30 most prestigious CEOs on the annual Barron list of around the globe (St. Louis Business Journal, 2009) as well as titled CEO of the Year, 2010 by Chief Executive magazine (Donlon, 2010). Community culture have a central role when it comes to the nature of leadership and stance to diversity of Hugh Grant. The effort for teamwork, transparency and advocacy over the time had affected his management strategy (DiversityInc Staff, 2013; Grant, 2011). The administrative framework for the company and its associated leadership team was updated with an emphasis on biotech dependency. The new structure was aimed at increasing the organizational in- fluence on the three main principles involved: promoting viable, productive development of capital on the part of Monsanto chemical undertakings; improving the revenue rate of seed and traits firms; and renewing endorsement of the adoption of biotechnology (AgBiotechNet, 2003) He added executive pay to diversity statistics, consistently worked with the 13 resource groups of the organization and had been a leading developer in the industry (DiversityInc Staff, 2013; Grant, 2011). Grant left the Chairman and CEO position, after the attainment of Monsanto by Bayer in an all-cash deal (Brennan, 2018). AstraZeneca Plc Predecessors: Merger of Astra AB & Zeneca Group plc CEO: Pascal Claude Roland Soriot Founded: 1999 (21 years ago) Industry: Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology “We can help choose some of those investments but we can also help along the way the startup com- panies, develop products and find their way around the world”. ~ Pascal Soriot AstraZeneca (AZN) is a public limited research based biopharmaceutical corporation which offers a catalogue of therapeutic products and services in key areas of ailments such as GI disease, Cancer etc. (AstraZeneca, 2015; Legal500, 2019). AZN emerged after the amalgam of the Swedish firm- Astra AB and British enterprise- Zeneca Group (AstraZeneca, 2019; Fortune, 2009) and it’s been among the world’s premier pharmaceutical entities since the alliance with a headquarter situated in Cambridge, England (Carroll, 2013). AstraZeneca has announced vet Pascal Soriot of its Swedish rival Roche as its chief executive, step- ping over David Brennan (Kollewe, 2012). New president of AstraZeneca, Leif Johansson welcomed ascension of Soriot as a “pivotal selection for AstraZeneca at an essential milestone” (Kollewe, 2012). Pascal has both a devotion to science and medicine and a comprehensive background in developing and evolving markets, a clear strategic vision, an excellent track record of transition and to tactically imple- ment change and a capacity to manage a complex corporation (AstraZeneca, 2012). Soriot describes his entire leadership personality as ‘casual strength’. For his tenure in Genentech, a California-based 71  Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics biotech, Soriot was able to assign this characteristic aspect to the CEO. In that business, he took up the pattern of governance where the community was highly relaxed but firmly assisted by a hard work ethic. He just attempts to not take himself very earnestly (Lee, 2020). Pascal would like to be stable and understandable, but be competitive at the same point (Lee, 2020). He is a risk taker and work on a rule to recruit an individual who can be his supervisor or boss (Soriot, 2016). Soriot’s simple rearing taught him that leaders are built and not born. He is leading by example and constantly attempt to do the appropriate thing. He assumes that it is possible to accommodate great- est achievement by only taking action to enhance every day. Soriot suggests that people ought to loop around others who hold believe close to others. Indeed, he’s the lowest paying CEO in the sector (Lee, 2020). AstraZeneca has been an active supporter of international health agencies in combating the CO- VID- 19 outbreak by donating face masks and PPE kits (Brackley, 2020) and announced the success of COVID- 19 vaccine created in collaboration with the University of Oxford as a “winning formula” with 70% efficiency (Entrepreneur, 2020; Gallagher, 2020). CONCLUSION In biotechnology, new discoveries are changing life as we know it. Biology and technology converge in this area and continue to lead the production and commercialization of new technologies intended to enrich lives. Biotechnology is everywhere, from vaccine production to the manufacture of biologics, from plant and animal research to medical equipment; Hence there are immense opportunities available. The bioentrepreneur has to pick the correct area with his own wit. The Indian government is also contribut- ing through “Make in India” to create possibilities for budding talent. 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Multiple terms, like bioscience entrepreneurship, life science entrepreneurship or bioscience corporation, apply to it. Biotechnology-Based Products: The term bio-based product refers to biomass-derived products, wholly or in part, such as seeds, trees or animals (the biomass can have undergone physical, chemical or biological treatment). 75  Essential Bioentrepreneurial Characteristics Business Plan: A business plan is a structured text that explains in depth how a business determines its priorities and how to accomplish its goals, typically a start-up. A strategic strategy sets out a written vision from marketing, financial, and organizational backgrounds for the organization. Intellectual Property Rights: Intellectual property is a property concept that encompasses the hu- man intellect’s intangible inventions. Make in India: Make in India is the Government of India’s main national initiative aimed at en- couraging investment, fostering creativity, enhancing skills growth, securing intellectual property, and developing the country’s best in class manufacturing infrastructure. 76