This ex-pharma executive quits C-suite job to launch 3D bioprinting startup, aims to revolutionize drug discovery

A pharma executive, who is vastly experienced in preclinical drug discovery and development, quits a C-level position in a large multinational company to launch startup companies focused on 3D bioprinting. He has a Ph D from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship from Columbia University in New York, US. Earlier, he had worked at Parke-Davis/ Pfizer, Michigan and AtheroGenics Inc. He then became Chief Scientific Officer of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories in US and India. Meet Dr Uday Saxena, Co-founder of ReaGene Biosciences and ReaGene Innovations who now aims to revolutionise drug discovery. In an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz, Dr Uday Saxena tells how he built a platform using a breakthrough technology called ‘3D bioprinting of human organs and disease models’

What made you venture into startups after working for several pharma majors in key roles? How is the journey so far?

I ventured into a startup because we can do high risk innovation only in startups. Large pharma has financial targets and shareholder responsibilities for which they have to focus on revenue generation constantly and have less room to do high risk innovation. Having said that large pharma has contributed significantly to the growth of the pharma industry but I believe that only startups can pursue "moon shot ideas" and disruptive innovation which is very much needed especially in a country like India which is at the cusp of being a global pharma leader. Even though I got into executive management of R&D and CEO of startups, by training I am a scientist and that's where my passion is. I get up every morning very excited about new product ideas and therapies for patients.

How are both ReaGene Biosciences and ReaGene Innovations doing? How are these platforms supporting drug discovery?

Reagene Biosciences is an administrative service company where we offer services of research tools and commercialise products. It uses the innovation and products developed by Reagene Innovations to offer services and market their products. I am a scientific Co-founder in both companies along with my long time friend and business partner Dr Subrahmanyam Vangala.

Reagene Innovations is purely focused on developing innovative platforms. It has built a platform using a breakthrough technology called ‘3D bioprinting of human organs and disease models’. Using these 3D bioprinted lab-grown humanised organs, we have discovered two products – one for Covid-19 and another for type 2 diabetes. The two 3D models we have developed are exclusively novel and closely mimic Covid-19 lung disease as seen in humans and type-2 diabetes where we mimic the function of major human organs involved in diabetes, such as pancreas, liver and muscle.

Where do you have the labs and offices? How is the research happening on 3D bio-printing technology?

We have offices in Bengaluru (Reagene Biosciences, Administrative Office) and in Hyderabad (Reagene Innovations, R&D labs). In Hyderabad, we are incubated at ASPIRE-BioNEST Incubator in University of Hyderabad. This is where all of the 3D bioprinting work is done.

How many products/ services do these companies offer at present, and what are there in the pipeline? Do you have the approvals?

We are offering several 3D bioprinted models for services such as lung model of Covid-19 and other pulmonary infections, type-2 diabetes where the whole human disease is simulated, cancer model to study any human cancer and quickly test old and new drugs, and alcoholic human liver disease model to study drugs that may treat cirrhosis and other liver complications of alcohol.

These models are ready to be used. A 3D human skin is in the pipeline, which can be used to study all skin diseases, skin transplant and transport of drugs by using skin patches.

We also have four products for patients – ImmunIgY, a prophylactic drink against Covid-19 (launched in Europe) in collaboration with a US-based company ProdIgY Inc, and Divitiz for sugar control in diabetes (launched in India at Tata 1mg, Amazon and Flipkart). For both these, we had to get proper regulatory approvals. A product called ‘Lively lung’ is ready to be launched for fighting lung damage against day to day air pollution, smoking, dust, allergens and pollen etc. Another one in the pipeline close behind is for diabetic wound healing. So, we have four 3D models offered as services and four products for patients so far.

How many patents were granted till now? Are you in the process of filing more patents in India or abroad?

As an inventor, I have around 30 plus granted patents and over 60 peer-reviewed publications. As a startup, we have filed seven patents to date along with our collaborators both in India and globally. It takes a minimum of two years for patents to be reviewed by the patent agencies so we are still waiting for them to be granted.

How many scientists are there in your team? What is the overall team size? Are you going to add more in the near future?

We usually have 3-4 scientists working in the lab. These are typically scientists with Master’s degrees and some are interns getting exposed to R&D in the industry. If we include the management and scientists we are about 7-8 people. We would like to expand the team as our revenues grow. I am a believer in running a small, nimble and fast running group with high productivity on a daily basis. This can only happen in startups that are completely focused. We have been very fortunate in attracting and retaining high quality talent.

Do these startups generate revenues? What are the financial targets ahead?

Most biotech startups do not generate revenues for the first five years. By the time we establish a new platform, get patents and develop products, it could take nearly 7-10 years. Actually, most of the biotech startups fail in the first five years and those who make it past that are likely to be successful. Our target is to focus on working fast to market therapies such as nutra-pharmaceuticals.

What are the expansion plans? Are you looking to raise funds or collaborate with any organisation or a company?

We are keeping all options open including revenues through services, products, collaborators and investor funds. If we can do a high value transaction with a company which is win-win for both parties, we would welcome that.

How 3D bioprinting technology is evolving now? What is the market size, current and projected growth rate in India?

3D bioprinting to my mind is breathtaking technology globally. Besides using it in discovery and development of therapies as we have done, the future is in creating human organs for transplant. Already 3D bioprinted skin transplant for burn victims is in the pipeline by others and so is cornea for patients with dysfunction vision. In India, there are not many companies doing 3D bioprinting in part because it is a difficult technology to design and establish but there are companies who are doing cornea 3D bioprinting which I find very attractive. There are many companies engaged in this technology globally so it’s an exciting race. I am absolutely fascinated by 3D bioprinting to be used for making human organs on demand for liver, kidney or skin transplant which could be a reality soon.

What are the major challenges of the biotech startups in the country? What kind of support are you expecting from the government?

India has made very significant strides in the biotech startup ecosystem. Funding and regulatory guidelines are key elements for the biotech sector to thrive. The government has been very supportive including the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) which gives out grants funding through their BIRAC programme for free to startup companies to prove a novel product idea after a thorough review by experts.

This high risk funding provided by the Government of India is honestly a boon to the scientists. I have never experienced this type of government funding even in North America and soon results will be seen in the form of cutting edge products in the market. The regulatory guidelines by which the products are approved by the government are also getting streamlined for ease of launches. All in all, India will soon be a powerhouse in biotech based therapies and many much-needed products coming out very soon.

What do you suggest fellow scientists and biotech startups in India?

To be successful, the scientist founders of startups will have to get out of their comfort zone of science and learn business skills. This is an area where we still need to mentor the startup CEOs in India and make them realise that they should either learn business skills or make someone the CEO who has business skills. I spend a lot of time in mentorship. Having business skills for a technical CEO is critical in any field otherwise the startup will fail soon. I feel strongly that this transition from technical expert to business skills of leadership is mandatory and is the make or break point of startup companies if they want to grow.

(This is the second article of WTC Shamshabad-FABA Startup Series, a collaborative effort of World Trade Center - Shamshabad and Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA), a global platform for the development of biotechnology, to highlight the achievements and accelerate growth in the Life Sciences industry)