Foreign VC funds get mixed reception in India

Matrix Capital Management LLC (Matrix; Waltham, MA, USA) announced on March 19 its plans to invest between $300–$600 million in late-stage funding in Indian biotech and pharmaceutical companies this year—the largest amount ever allotted for this sector by a single foreign investor. But Indian startup companies, which are accustomed to a dearth of venture capital (VC) in the country, are skeptical that overseas funds will benefit the industry.

"We are looking at India because Indian human capital is arguably the highest in the world and it is a country where one can get high returns at low cost [of investment]," says David Goel, managing general partner at Matrix. Teams that manage $1 billion in funds from Matrix and its sister company Matrix Venture Capital Investments (Waltham, MA, USA) were in India in March scouting for what Goel describes as "high-quality pharma and biotech companies to invest [in]."

But Matrix is not alone. At the BioAsia-2004 meeting held in Hyderabad February 26–28, Andreas Wicki, CEO of VC firm HBM Bioventures (Baar, Switzerland), announced plans to commit $10–$20 million annually for Indian biotech companies. And Michael Alder, managing director of VC company Redmont Venture Partners (Birmingham, AL, USA), talked about the possibility of his firm joining an Indian coinvestor to create a $20 million fund for early-stage biotech firms.

"We think overseas venture funding will give a big push to our nascent biotech industry, whose main problem is finances," says Bhim Sain Bajaj, a senior official at the All India Biotechnology Association (AIBA, New Delhi). "Last month we were talking to HBM Bioventures and now Matrix is here. As the word spreads, more [overseas VC] will come to give our companies a boost," says Bibhu Prasad Acharya, secretary of Industries and Commerce for the state of Andhra Pradesh.

But not everyone agrees with Bajaj. Ashok Kumar Sadhukhan, managing director of Transgene Biotek (Hyderabad, India), welcomes the Matrix move to invest in the country, but does not think startup firms are going to benefit. "Why would the foreign investors take risks when our own venture funds are shying away?" he wonders.

Peter Boelhouwer, a Matrix team member, admits that for its first venture in India—which is also its first foray into the biotechnology field—the main strategy of his company is to buy stocks in Indian public companies already making profits. Wicki also makes it clear that his company's focus "is on mature companies including spinoffs and, in some instances, early-stage companies."

Sarath Naru, managing director of APIDC-Venture Capital (APIDC-VCL; Hyderabad), which funds only biotech startups, is not surprised at the dilemma of overseas investors. "Traditionally they are used to funding early-stage companies in their backyards," he says. "Not many of them are coming to India because it is difficult for them to operate unless they tie up with a local venture partner."

But potential local VC partners are few and far between. The total amount annually invested into Indian biotech is about $500 million, according to AIBI. But other than APIDC-VCL, none of the approximately 25 Indian VC funds is dedicated to biotechnology. Last year, the Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT) proposed to raise and manage a $12 million fund, but the Finance Ministry stalled the initiative because it felt the funds should be raised and managed by private firms and the DBT's role should be limited to providing matching loans. The only other Indian fund dedicated to local biotech firms is a $45 fund that is still under discussion by the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (Bangalore, India).

According to Naru, Indian VCs have been staying away from early-stage biotech companies since the dot-com bust in 2000. The long gestation period of biotech projects is another reason, says Renuka Ramnath, CEO of VC firm i-Venture (Mumbai, India). Against this backdrop, Naru says that overseas funding will definitely be helpful, but "what we want in India is early-stage funding by foreign VCs with handholding fund managers in India, [a situation that would] add value locally and overseas."

Lufthansa-CNBC TV18 - All for this one moment. Interview with Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Lufthansa-CNBC TV18 - All for this one moment. Interview with Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Biotechnology giant Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw on Success and Failure

giant Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw on Success and Failure

Sandeep Unnikrishnan

Sandeep Unnikrishnan

Mumbai attack : Bihar Regiment’s Major Sandeep dies as a national hero

Two NSG personnel, including an officer, were today killed and six other commandos injured during operations against terrorists in Mumbai, the first casualties suffered by the elite force during the siege.

Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, 31, was killed while engaging terrorists this morning at the Taj hotel. An officer of the Bihar Regiment, he was commissioned in the Indian Army in June 1999.

Major Sandeep was with the 51 Special Action Group of the force and was with the NSG on deputation. He has been with the Black Cat commando force for the last two years. The officer had joined the NSG on deputation in January 2007 after having served two tenures with his battalion in counter insurgency and counter terrorism roles.

The officer hails from Bangalore where his father works for the Indian Space Research Organisation. Remembered for being high on principles, he was strictly averse to hypocrisy, sycophancy, apathy and lack of compassion.

In spite of being such an asset to the national security, the modest Unni always felt that his job was a regular one. But what he didn’t know was the fact that this so called ‘regular’ job will end up making him a national hero.

Soaked in blood and pierced with bullets, Unikrishnan’s body was found around 1.30 pm on the third floor of the hotel. “We lost contact with him around noon which means he fought alone before the terrorists killed him,” an NSG official told.

The second casualty was of Gajender Singh, another NSG commando, who died fighting terrorists in Nariman House. He was one of the members of the two platoons which were air dropped around the Nariman House area. His body was flown to Delhi on Friday night from where it will be taken to Dehradun.

Six other commandos were also injured during the encounters with terrorists at Taj hotel, Oberoi-Trident and Nariman House.

Indian Government's Shame

An Olympic Shooter wins Gold medal (Only a game)
























Govt gives him 3 Crore + Awards







Another Shooter dies, fighting with terrorists (Saving our country and our lives)









Govt pays his family 5 Lakhs

Incredible India

Incredible India

INDIA-1

INDIA-1

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE .... Part III

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

inspirational

inspirational

Bacterial Meningitis

Bacterial Meningitis

Are entrepreneurs born or made?

Are entrepreneurs born or made?

Snow - Informer

Snow - Informer

Tum Chalo (LeadIndia - New Anthem)

Tum Chalo (LeadIndia - New Anthem)

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE .... Part II

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

JUST FOLLOW THIS

JUST FOLLOW THIS

The Law Of Attraction

The Law Of Attraction

Rocky Balboa Tribute 1-6

Rocky Balboa Tribute 1-6

Rocky 3 - Trailer

Rocky 3 - Trailer

Invincible" - Vince Papale, final scenes

Invincible" - Vince Papale, final scenes

Genetic markers: How accurate can genetic data be?

Molecular markers come in different flavours—blood groups, allozymes, RFLPs, AFLPs, RAPDs, STRs, SNPs, you name them. Whether the focus is on specific populations or on worldwide patterns (Cavalli-Sforza et al., 1994), genetic data have become prominent in recent decades and have fundamentally changed our views on human evolution and prehistory. But what if some of these markers were biased? What if genetic markers, far from being more objective than other types of data, were producing a distorted view of human diversity, and, as a consequence, of human origins? And if that were the case, would it be possible to identify the best and least biased data sets around? These important questions are at the heart of an article by Romero et al. (2008) recently published in Heredity.

In technical terms, the issue addressed by Romero et al. is called ascertainment bias and it has been around for some time (Garrod, 1902). It refers to a statistical bias introduced during the collection (or ascertainment) of data, and started to catch the eye of human population geneticists some 15 years ago (Bowcock et al., 1994). In population genetic studies the main cause of ascertainment bias is an economic one. Genetic markers are usually selected on the basis that they should be polymorphic (that is, variable) in a reference sample. Understandably, their costly development is rarely carried out on large samples and, once identified, it would be hard to imagine colleagues who would be happy to spend their research budget genotyping whole populations at markers for which most individuals will be identical.

The first and most obvious consequence of this selection process is that, by eliminating the least variable markers, genetic diversity is overestimated. In itself this is not necessarily a major problem, if one keeps track of the markers that were eliminated. A second consequence is that genetic diversity is usually inflated in the reference population/s as shown by Bowcock et al. (1994) in humans. This effect was particularly strong in Europe compared to other regions with nuclear RFLPs (restriction fragment length polymorphism), allozymes and blood groups, but weak or absent in microsatellites. They wrote that 'a reasonable explanation [...] is the bias introduced by their initial selection in Europeans.' They added that this 'bias is likely to be less serious for markers with large numbers of alleles such as microsatellites'. Interestingly, this second ascertainment problem is very general. Using cattle and sheep, Ellegren et al. (1997) elegantly showed that microsatellite markers developed in one species produced shorter repeats and lower diversity estimates in the other species. Importantly, this explained why humans appeared to have longer microsatellites than other apes without invoking directional selection in humans.

A third and more subtle consequence of ascertainment bias arises even when the reference sample comprises individuals from the whole species range, as is the case in the protocols used for single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery in humans. The critical issue is that the number of individuals in the so-called 'discovery panel' is usually very small. Thus, rare alleles tend to be missed and selected SNPs typically have alleles with similarly high or medium frequencies (SNPs are typically biallelic). This is problematic because many demographic events leave specific signatures in the allele frequency distribution. For instance, population bottlenecks tend to eliminate rare alleles, whereas expanding populations exhibit more loci with rare alleles. Similarly, directional or balancing selection also either favour one allele or maintain the allele frequencies at some equilibrium value, respectively. In other words, this type of ascertainment bias can mimic balancing selection or demographic bottlenecks. It can thus either generate false signatures or mask existing ones.

What makes the study of Romero et al. important is that they not only try to identify biases in genomic data sets but they also suggest a way to identify 'unbiased' data sets. As an example, Romero et al. cite a study by Ray et al. (2005) who tried to infer the region of origin of modern humans using a large single-tandem repeats (STRs) data set and massive spatial simulations. Ray et al. (2005) found that the most likely region of origin was North Africa, a region for which there was no known support from archaeological or anthropological data. Their guess was that a bias similar to that identified by Bowcock et al. (1994) was somehow shifting the centre of origins towards Europe or regions genetically close to Europe. After correcting for this bias, East Africa became the most likely region. Although Ray et al. (2005)'s final result is very sensible, Romero et al. were not fully convinced that the STR markers used were biased in any particular way.
Romero et al.'s results can be divided into three main points. First by comparing three existing genomic data sets, namely 783 STRs, 2834 SNPs and 210 insertion deletion polymorphisms (indels), they showed that there are significant differences between them, and hence not all may properly reflect human neutral diversity. Then, by generating a new set of 16 STR markers in the least biased way possible, they used these new STRs as a benchmark against which the three genomic data sets could be compared. Finally, their comparisons showed that the genomic data set least biased was the STR data that Ray et al. had used.

Does that mean, as the authors claim, that the 783 STR markers 'suffer no discernable bias'? We need here to go back to the selection process followed to generate the 16 STRs. Romero et al. actually started by identifying 70 independent STRs. The difficulty to obtain reliably amplifying loci led to the elimination of 46 loci. Among the 24 remaining loci, eight (one-third) proved to be nearly monomorphic, and were discarded from the rest of the analyses. It is thus fair to ask whether discarding these loci would not affect parameter inference beyond the obvious overestimation of genetic diversity in human populations. In fact, there are good reasons to think that this would create a bias when populations have either gone through a bottleneck or a population expansion, because the very proportion of monomorphic loci is providing us with information on such events as I noted above. This had already been noticed by Beaumont (1999) in a bottlenecked population and has since been confirmed on other real data sets. As a quick test I also performed some simulations (not shown), in which I had a set of 24 loci from which I then selected two sets of 16 loci: one by discarding the eight least variable loci, and the other by discarding eight loci randomly. I found that in an admixture model the admixture proportions did not seem to be biased, whereas in the population size change models the selection of the 16 most variable loci seemed to produce biases for some parameters, but not all. Altogether the previous studies and these (admittedly very limited) simulations thus suggest that even the STRs identified by Romero et al. are likely to produce some biases.

To conclude, Romero et al. have clearly demonstrated that significant problems exist with both indels and SNPs, and they have also shown that the STRs are probably the best loci available today (but see Nielsen et al. (2004) for possible corrections for SNPs). One should probably take with a pinch of salt their claim that their STRs were unbiased or that the biases identified by Ray et al. (2005) were not real. But clearly, Romero et al.'s study is a significant step towards proper population genetics inference.

Rocky Balboa 6 Training scene

Rocky Balboa 6 Training scene

Tissue sample suggests HIV has been infecting humans for a century

48-year-old lymph node biopsy reveals the history of the deadly virus.

A biopsy taken from an African woman nearly 50 years ago contains traces of the HIV genome, researchers have found. Analysis of sequences from the newly discovered sample suggests that the virus has been plaguing humans for almost a century.

Although AIDS was not recognized until the 1980s, HIV was infecting humans well before then. Researchers hope that by studying the origin and evolution of HIV, they can learn more about how the virus made the leap from chimpanzees to humans, and work out how best to design a vaccine to fight it.

In 1998, researchers reported the isolation of HIV-1 sequences from a blood sample taken in 1959 from a Bantu male living in Léopoldville1 — now Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Analysis of that sample and others suggested that HIV-1 originates from sometime between 1915 and 19412.

Now, researchers report in Nature that they have uncovered another historic sample, collected in 1960 from a woman who also lived in Léopoldville3

“It's as if you had a nice pearl necklace of DNA and RNA and protein and you clumped it together, drenched it in glue and then dried it out.”

It took evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona in Tucson and his colleagues eight years of searching for suitable tissue collections originating in Africa before they tracked down the 1960 lymph node biopsy at the University of Kinshasa.

Drenched in glue
The samples had all been treated with harsh chemicals, embedded in paraffin wax and left at room temperature for decades. The acidic chemicals had broken the genome up into small fragments. Formalin, a chemical used to prepare samples for microscopy, had crosslinked nucleic acids with protein. "It's as if you had a nice pearl necklace of DNA and RNA and protein and you clumped it together, drenched it in glue and then dried it out," says Worobey.

The team worked out a combination of methods that would allow them to sequence DNA and RNA from the samples; another lab at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, confirmed the results, also finding traces of the HIV-1 genome in the lymph node biopsy.

This photo shows Kinshasa around 1885, shortly after its founding. The growth of Kinshasa and other cities in the region may have been crucial to the emergence of HIV/AIDS.Royal Museum for Central Africa

Using a database of HIV-1 sequences and an estimate of the rate at which these sequences change over time, the researchers modelled when HIV-1 first surfaced. Their results showed that the most likely date for HIV's emergence was about 1908, when Léopoldville was emerging as a centre for trade.

Although that date will not surprise most HIV researchers, the new data should help persuade those who were unconvinced by the 1959 sample, says Beatrice Hahn, an HIV researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The sequences of the 1959 and 1960 samples - the earliest that have ever been found - show a difference of about 12%. "This shows very clearly that there was tremendous variation even then," says Simon Wain-Hobson, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.
A virus ready for its close-up

However, it may never be possible to pinpoint exactly how HIV crossed from chimpanzees into humans, Hahn cautions. She and her collaborators previously tracked the likely source of HIV-1 to chimpanzees living in southeast Cameroon4, hundreds of kilometres from Kinshasa, and it is tempting to hypothesize that trade routes contributed to the virus's infiltration of the city. But even by 1960, HIV-1 had infected only a few thousand Africans. It is unlikely that it will be possible to track down samples from the very earliest victims, Hahn notes.

Meanwhile, Worobey plans to continue his search through old tissue collections in the hope of finding additional samples. In time, he says, it may even be possible to reconstruct the historic HIV viruses for further study.

Collecting information about old strains of HIV — even those that disappeared over time — can help researchers learn how successful strains broke through, says Wain-Hobson. "For every star in Hollywood there are fifty starlets," he says. "We would love to know what it was that caused this strain to move out of starlet phase and to the big time."

Ratan Naval Tata

Ratan Naval Tata (born December 28, 1937, in Mumbai) is the present Chairman of the Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate founded by Jamsedji Tata and consolidated and expanded by later generations of his family.
Ratan Naval Tata

Ratan Tata
Born
December 28, 1937 (1937-12-28) (age 70)Mumbai, India
Occupation
Chairman of Tata Group
Spouse(s)
Never married
Children
None
Parents
Naval & Soonoo Tata

In 1971, Ratan was appointed the Director-in-Charge of The National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (Nelco), a company that was in dire financial difficulty. Ratan suggested that the company invest in developing high-technology products, rather than in consumer electronics. J.R.D. was reluctant due to the historical financial performance of Nelco which had never even paid regular dividends. Further, Nelco had 2% market share in the consumer electronics market and a loss margin of 40% of sales when Ratan took over. Nonetheless, J. R. D. followed Ratan's suggestions.
From 1972 to 1975, Nelco eventually grew to have a market share of 20%, and recovered its losses. In 1975 however, India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency, which led to an economic recession. This was followed by union problems in 1977, so even after demand improved, production did not keep up. Finally, the Tatas confronted the unions and, following a strike, a lockout was imposed for seven months. Ratan continued to believe in the fundamental soundness of Nelco, but the venture did not survive.
In 1977, Ratan was entrusted with Empress Mills, a textile mill controlled by the Tatas. When he took charge of the company, it was one of the few sick units in the Tata group. Ratan managed to turn it around and even declared a dividend. However, competition from less labour-intensive enterprises had made a number of companies unviable, including those like the Empress which had large labour contingents and had spent too little on modernisation. On Ratan's insistence, some investment was made, but it did not suffice. As the market for coarse and medium cotton cloth (which was all that the Empress produced) turned adverse, the Empress began to accumulate heavier losses. Bombay House, the Tata headquarters, was unwilling to divert funds from other group companies into an undertaking which would need to be nursed for a long time. So, some Tata directors, chiefly Nani Palkhivala, took the line that the Tatas should liquidate the mill, which was finally closed down in 1986. Ratan was severely disappointed with the decision, and in a later interview with the Hindustan Times would claim that the Empress had needed just Rs 50 lakhs to turn it around.
In 1981, Ratan was named Chairman of Tata Industries, the Group's other holding company, where he became responsible for transforming it into the Group's strategy think-tank and a promoter of new ventures in high-technology businesses.
In 1991, he took over as group chairman from J.R.D. Tata, pushing out the old guard and ushering in younger managers. Since then, he has been instrumental in reshaping the fortunes of the Tata Group, which today has the largest market capitalization of any business house on the Indian Stock Market.
Under Ratan's guidance, Tata Consultancy Services went public and Tata Motors was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1998, Tata Motors introduced his brainchild, the Tata Indica.
On January 31, 2007, under the chairmanship of Ratan Tata, Tata Sons successfully acquired Corus Group, an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminum producer. With the acquisition, Ratan Tata became a celebrated personality in Indian corporate business culture. The merger created the fifth largest steel producing entity in the world.

Ratan Tata's dream was to manufacture a car costing Rs 100,000 (1998: approx. US$2,200; today US$2,528). He realized his dream by launching the car in New Delhi Auto Expo on January 10, 2008. Three models of the Tata Nano were announced, and Ratan Tata delivered on his commitment to developing a car costing only 1 lakh rupees, adding that "a promise is a promise," referring to his earlier promise to deliver this car at the said cost.Recently when his plant for Nano production was obstructed by Mamta Banerjee(plant was shut down for 2 weeks,its first car for use in the market will be delayed by a couple of weeks), his decision of going out of West Bengal was warmly welcomed.This would affect the image of West Bengal in rest of India and abroad as well.Although, Industrialization in West Bengal is only supported by CM Budhadeb Bhattacharjee.The fianl decision is yet to come.
On March 26, 2008, Tata Motors under Ratan Tata bought over Jaguar & Land Rover from Ford Motor Company. The icons of British Luxury, Jaguar and Land Rover were acquired for £1.15 billion ($2.3 billion).[1]
Contents[hide]
1 Personal life
2 Awards and Recognition
3 External links
4 References
//

[edit] Personal life
Ratan Tata, a shy man, rarely features in the society glossies, has lived for years in a book-crammed, dog-filled bachelor flat in Mumbai's Colaba district.[2]

[edit] Awards and Recognition
On the occasion of India's 50th Republic Day on 26 January 2000, Ratan Tata was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest decoration that may be awarded to a civilian. On 26 January 2008 he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian decoration. He was one of the recipients of the NASSCOM Global Leadership Awards-2008 given away at a ceremony on February 14 2008 in Mumbai. Ratan Tata accepted the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2007 on behalf of the Tata family. [3][4]
Ratan Tata serves in senior capacities in various organisations in India and he is a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. In March 2006 Tata was honoured by Cornell University as the 26th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, considered the highest honor the university awards to distinguished individuals from the corporate sector.[5]
Ratan Tata's foreign affiliations include membership of the international advisory boards of the Mitsubishi Corporation, the American International Group, JP Morgan Chase and Booz Allen Hamilton. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the RAND Corporation, University of Southern California and of his alma mater, Cornell University.[6][7] He also serves as a board member on the Republic of South Africa's International Investment Council and is an Asia-Pacific advisory committee member for the New York Stock Exchange. Tata is on the board of governors of the East-West Center, the advisory board of RAND's Center for Asia Pacific Policy and serves on the programme board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS initiative. In February 2004, Ratan Tata was conferred the title of honorary economic advisor to Hangzhou city in the Zhejiang province of China.
He recently received an honorary doctorate from the London School of Economics and was listed among the 25 most powerful people in business named by Fortune magazine in November 2007. In May 2008 Mr Tata made it to the Time magazine's 2008 list of the World's 100 most Influential people.Tata was hailed for unveiling his tiny Rs. one lakh car 'Nano'.One of Powerfull personalities ever who stood by his promise.
On 29th August 2008, Singapore Government has conferred its honorary citizenship on Ratan Tata, in recognition of his abiding business relationship with the island nation and his contribution to the growth of high-tech sectors in Singapore. Ratan Tata is the first Indian to receive the honorary citizenship of Singapore.

How to get rid of problems - Paper On Hinduism (Part VII)

How to get rid of problems - Paper On Hinduism (Part VII)

Law of Creation - Paper On Hinduism - Part II

Law of Creation - Paper On Hinduism - Part II

Why should people suffer - Paper On Hinduism (Part III)

Why should people suffer - Paper On Hinduism (Part III

Bally Sagoo -Ishq Mitha

Bally Sagoo -Ishq Mitha

Ishq Bina

Ishq Bina

Sting feat. Cheb Mami - Desert Rose (Original)

Sting feat. Cheb Mami - Desert Rose (Original)

The Don't Quit Poem

The Don't Quit Poem

Biotech

Biotech

Biotechnology: The Invisible Revolution

Biotechnology: The Invisible Revolution

swami vivekananda

swami vivekananda

Power and Repose: Swami Vivekananda

Power and Repose: Swami Vivekananda

Michael Jackson - Heal The World

Michael Jackson - Heal The World

Cheb Khaled

DIDI

THE BEE GEES -

THE BEE GEES -

Papa Kehte hai

Papa Kehte hai

woh pehli bar

woh pehli bar

jeena haseena

jeena haseena

Rocky theme song

Rocky theme song

Bob Marley Natural Mystic Live

Bob Marley Natural Mystic Live

Independence Day (ID4) Speech

Independence Day (ID4) Speech

Customer Focus

Customer FOCUS

MAN OF MIRACLE DRUGS-DR YELLAPRAGADA SUBBAROW PHOTO GALLERY

A portrait by Philip Rane


In this humble home

Child bride finances medical education




Swamins of Ramakrishna Order motivate SubbaRow to become a medical doctor




With colleagues who seek cures for modern ailments from ancient Ayurveda




In this Harvard Lab, Dr. SubbaRow discovered ATP




With Colleagues

Stamp out common virus to beat brain cancer

Cancer experts have suggested a new way to tackle particularly tenacious brain tumours known as glioblastomas. Attacking a common virus often found in these cancers may halt their growth, say researchers.
This technique might provide an alternative to current surgical treatments for glioblastoma, which, because of the tumours' position deep in the brain, carry a significant risk of brain damage.
This strategy may help doctors pursue their preferred tactic of allowing the body's own immune system to attack cancer cells, systematically eradicating them from the brain tissue without harming nearby healthy cells.
Until now it has been impossible for the immune system to distinguish brain tumour cells from healthy cells as they often have the same identifying marker proteins - called antigens - and because brain tumours often suppress immune function.
Delaying tactics
In the new study, oncologist Duane Mitchell at Duke University Medical Center and colleagues build on previous research showing the consistent presence of cytomegalovirus, a type of herpesvirus, in glioblastoma cells but not in surrounding healthy tissue.
Roughly 50-80% of healthy people in the United States are infected with cytomegalovirus, although in healthy people it remains latent. Virus particles multiply to high numbers only in those with compromised immune systems. So Mitchell and his team wondered if they could halt the cancer by guiding the immune system to attack the unique antigens of the virus in glioblastoma cells.
The team took white blood cells from 21 patients, exposed them to parts of the virus, and injected the cells back into the patients. Their preliminary results suggest that this technique is safe and effective.
“Because the immune system kills both the virus and the cell it resides in, we are hoping that we will be able use this vaccine to kill the tumour cells that standard therapy can't reach,” explains Mitchell.
Mitchell and his colleagues will unveil their findings1 on 1 June at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. Although the results are preliminary, tumour progression for those in the trial was delayed by more than a year on average - and several patients had no sign of tumour growth after two years.

The delay in tumour growth using standard therapy is typically six to eight months compared with non-treatment, with average survival of less than 15 months.
Attack is the best form of defence
Nobody is certain whether the virus triggers the cancer or the cancer attracts the virus. But, “the fact that the brain tumour cells create an immunosuppressive environment where the virus can make its home makes a lot of sense,” explains Charles Cobbs at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco, who first discovered the association between cytomegalovirus and the tumours.
If the virus is causing the cancer, then destroying it is all the more important. But even if it merely exists side by side with the cancer, “its unique antigens look like the perfect way for the immune system to go about attacking the tumour,” explains Cobbs.

'In business, the name of the game is innovation'

From a three-man army to a company with four offices in Mumbai itself and over 1,000 employees, the Unisource Group has grown in leaps and bounds in the short span of seven years. This is, in no small way, credited to the vision of its 33-year-old founder Avirat Sonpal.
In an email interview with rediff.com's Shifra Menezes, Avirat talks about how he started off as an entrepreneur and what it takes to make it big.
Tell us a little about your background. I completed my schooling in Greenlawns, Mumbai, and further went on to pursue a degree in Fashion at FIT, USA. For sometime thereon, I ran my own business in the US when I met with Andy Todd, the now President of our affiliate brand, Steve & Barry's, who spoke to me about the core concept that makes Steve & Barry's, which engaged me then, and to date engages me.
My family has been involved in the garment business for four generations, with this common link being the binding force that has brought generations together. Our main line of expertise was primarily textiles and fabrics, and then was later diversified into the garment business as well. Export of fabrics to Africa formed the primary business function.
How did 4004 Incorporated - The Unisource Group come about?In 2001, Steve & Barry's had approximately 10-15 stores across the US. I was in the US pursuing my degree and running my business, where I happened to meet with Andy Todd, the President of Steve & Barry's. The Steve & Barry's concept was extremely challenging, and the philosophy of retailing merchandise at affordable prices was fascinating.
4004 Incorporated - Unisource Group was set up with a three-man army -- two assistants and I, and we began sourcing basic tee-shirts from India and neighbouring countries.
We now have over 1,000 employees, and are procuring merchandise ranging from apparel, footwear and accessories; and performing all allied functions including quality, logistics, design, product development, social compliance, to name a few. We have certainly come a long way since inception and hope to grow a lot more in the near future.
Setting up the Unisource Group from ground level up, was my real first career stint, as I was previously involved in running my own clothing business in New York. I started out my career as an entrepreneur in the beginning stages, and then went on to set up the Unisource Group from infancy, my greatest and proudest achievement yet.
Tell us a bit about the early days of the companyThe Unisource Group now serves as a one-stop resource for sourcing, quality assurance, logistics, merchandising, technical audits, etc right from inception. It wasn't this case from the start.
The small team initially primarily carried out negotiations with our vendors with regards to the pricing and quality of our products, within a 9 am to 8 pm time parity, and I would then have to liaise with our affiliate brand by night, keeping in mind, the time difference factor, which would work out to be an 11 pm to 3 am shift.
The initial years were indeed, a challenge, but the gains from the hard work and sacrifice were more than I hoped for, and so, was worth every minute.
Do you believe in the 'lucky break' factor, or do you believe that an innovative, new idea is all you need to guarantee career success?I do believe that it has to be a combination of both innovation and luck. Innovation forms a core criterion for guaranteeing success in any field, be it business, a specialisation or a trade of any sort.
My strong philosophy is that it is a person's creativity that allows them to stay ahead in the game with groundbreaking ideas and creativity, and it is this crucial factor that defines success.
What kind of challenges have you faced in the course of your career, and how have you learned to deal with it?All companies have challenges of their own to face, and challenges to me, form the spice of life, as real victory is based, not only on how many targets one has managed to achieve, but also on how many challenges one has managed to overcome. One of the primary challenges when the Unisource Group came into being, was putting across the groundbreaking concept that formed the basis of our ideology -- that of affordable pricing keeping in mind high quality -- and educating our business partners on the same.
In the beginning stages of our inception, it was quite a challenge negotiating with our vendors, and getting them to believe in the company as fiercely as I do. Effectively running a business means facing at least one (if not more) challenge a day, and coming to terms with that, and taking away something positive from every challenge has been and still is my key learning.
What do you think is the most common mistake newcomers make? Newcomers today are extremely bright, and the evolving education industry, globalisation, access to information and the worldwide web have made them more aware and informed.
The future generations are very promising, the one concern I have is that youngsters today seem extremely keen and eager to grow very quickly. This may sometimes be a trade-off to enriching one's experience through tenure and time.
Has your success impacted your personal life at all? I do feel like one has to prioritise what's important in one's own life, and in order to achieve great success of any sort, compromise is inevitable. The measure of real success is one where one has mastered the art of balancing both, the personal and professional life.
Once a person has identified what really matters to them, everything else falls into place. I personally do not view 'work' in the sense that most people do, as work to me is about pursuing my passion, so work to me is like pursuing a hobby!
What tips do you have for today's youngsters looking to set up their own company? Other than a good idea, what is required from them?The name of the game for any business to thrive in this day and age is 'innovation'. With the way the world has and is still advancing, competition has never been at a greater high than in current times.
However, it isn't only important having a concept, what is vital is to have knowledge of the industry, competition, and an estimate of the overall expected growth in the industry.
A budding entrepreneur must ideally have a healthy mix of both education and experience and information to make it big, and should be able to creatively combat challenges and hurdles that he would come across in his professional life in as creative a manner as possible.
I also believe that it's important to master your art, and know each and every core aspect of one's business. Knowledge is thus, another important requisite for any leader

Researchers Close in on Origins of Main Ingredient of Alzheimer's Plaques

The ability of brain cells to take in substances from their surface is essential to the production of a key ingredient in Alzheimer's brain plaques, neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned.

The researchers used a drug to shut down the intake process, known as endocytosis, in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. The change led to a 70 percent drop in levels of amyloid beta, the protein fragment that clumps together to form Alzheimer's plaques. Importantly, they also found that endocytosis' ability to increase amyloid beta was coupled to normal nerve cell communication called synaptic activity

Blocking endocytosis isn't a viable option for treatment because cells throughout the body, including brain cells, need endocytosis for healthy function," says first author John Cirrito, Ph.D., research instructor in neurology. "But we are starting to understand the origins of amyloid beta in more detail now, and what we’re learning is opening other options we can pursue to seek new treatments for Alzheimer's disease

While endocytosis is necessary for normal function of brain cells, Cirrito and others believe it may accidentally be causing the cells to take in the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which breaks down into amyloid beta. If so, a drug that reduces brain cells' intake of APP may help reduce amyloid beta production.

The results appear in the April 10 issue of Neuron.

Other research had shown previously that endocytosis might be important for amyloid beta production, and that amyloid beta is produced inside brain cells. In 2005, Cirrito and his colleagues linked increased communication between brain cells to higher amyloid beta levels.

Cirrito decided to test both endocytosis and brain cell activity in a coordinated fashion. He used a technique known as microdialysis that he had previously adapted for Alzheimer's research to monitor the results. In addition to allowing repeated sampling of the amyloid beta levels in the brains of live mice, the approach allows him to introduce drugs that reduce endocytosis and alter communication between brain cells.

When researchers gave mice the drug that stopped endocytosis, amyloid beta levels dropped by 70 percent. To see how much normal brain activity contributed to ongoing amyloid beta production in the absence of endocytosis, they then added a second drug that reduced brain cell communication. Amyloid beta levels did not decrease further.

When they reversed the experiment, reducing brain cell communication first, amyloid beta decreased by 60 percent. Adding the drug that stops endocytosis caused an additional small reduction in amyloid beta.

The results show that amyloid beta production requires both brain cell communication and endocytosis, but endocytosis is essential for a slightly larger share of amyloid beta. Basic nerve cell physiology may explain why.

The study focused on synapses, the region where nerve cells transmit messages by releasing chemicals from small compartments near the cell surface. To replenish those compartments, the nerve cell regularly takes them back in through endocytosis. The more active a brain cell is, the more often it has to bring these compartments back into the cell and refill them.

Endocytosis can be messy in that it brings lots of substances into the cell from the membrane it internalizes," Cirrito says. "I think APP may be an innocent bystander in this process -- it just happens to be present on the cell surface when nerve cell communication causes more endocytosis. If there is a functional reason APP has to participate in this process, no one has found it."

Activity isn't the only cause of endocytosis in brain cells. The cells have other reasons for bringing in materials through endocytosis, and this additional intake could account for the small share of amyloid beta production that requires endocytosis but doesn't need brain cell activity.

Cirrito conducted the research in the laboratories of co-senior authors David M. Holtzman, M.D., the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at the School of Medicine, and neurologist-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Steven J. Mennerick, Ph.D., associate professor of neurobiology and psychiatry.

Researchers already know several proteins on the surfaces of brain cells that bind to APP. They will be conducting follow-up studies to see if blocking these interactions can block APP endocytosis and reduce amyloid beta production.

Protecting a Life-Saving Blood Product from Human Form of Mad Cow Disease

Amid concern that recipients of certain blood transfusions may risk infection with a deadly protein responsible for the human form of mad cow disease, researchers in Canada now report development of a special filter that quickly and effectively removes the protein from blood.

In addition to causing mad cow disease, these so-called prion proteins cause a variant form of the human neurological disorder, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Termed variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), its emergence triggered recent bans on exportation of beef from Europe. Variant CJD also can be transmitted in blood transfusions

“The use of the device will significantly decrease the risk of acquiring vCJD through blood transfusions,” co-author Patrick V. Gurgel, Ph.D., reported at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society. The device has been approved for use in Europe “and has no competitor at the moment,” said Gurgel.

About the size of a person’s hand, the device contains a specially-designed material that recognizes and binds to prions. “This technology adds a needed layer of protection against the transmission of vCJD through blood transfusion,” said Gurgel, senior research scientist at ProMetic Life Sciences in Mont-Royal, Quebec, Canada. “Our research shows that it works.”

The new filter can remove prions from red blood cell concentrate in less than an hour. Transfusions of red blood cells go to thousands of patients with chronic anemia resulting from kidney failure, cancer, gastrointestinal bleeding, and acute blood loss resulting from trauma.

The researchers needed five years to develop the device and are now working on ways to remove prion proteins from other blood components, including plasma and plasma proteins, Gurgel said.

In previous studies, the scientists showed that the device could successfully remove prions from the blood of infected hamsters and that the disinfected blood could be injected into healthy hamsters without causing disease. More recently, the researchers demonstrated that the device can also filter healthy human blood without damaging the red blood cells and other blood components, a finding that demonstrates that the technique is safe for use on human blood, they said.

Human clinical studies using the device, called the P-Capt® Prion Capture Filter, are now underway in Europe, where it has received approval for commercialization, the scientists say. The first commercialization will be in Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK) and is expected in mid 2008, in an effort to help safeguard blood supplies, Gurgel suggested

Experts believe that vCJD is acquired from eating beef from prion-infected cattle. As in cows, the disease is characterized by a slow destruction of the brain tissue, which results in nerve damage, paralysis, and eventually death. So far, vCJD has killed at least 200 people in Europe alone. Health officials are increasingly concerned that the disease may spread elsewhere, including the United States, through blood transfusions from infected individuals.

There is currently no reliable blood test for detecting the disease or a way of destroying the infectious prion proteins in blood. As a result, blood donation centers in the U.S. have imposed restrictions on blood donations from individuals who have lived in Europe for at least five years, particularly in the UK, where most vCJD cases have occurred.

Promising New Nanotechnology for Spinal Cord...

Promising New Nanotechnology for Spinal Cord Injury

A spinal cord injury often leads to permanent paralysis and loss of sensation below the site of the injury because the damaged nerve fibers can't regenerate. The nerve fibers or axons have the capacity to grow again, but don’t because they're blocked by scar tissue that develops around the injury.

Northwestern University researchers have shown that a new nano-engineered gel inhibits the formation of scar tissue at the injury site and enables the severed spinal cord fibers to regenerate and grow. The gel is injected as a liquid into the spinal cord and self -assembles into a scaffold that supports the new nerve fibers as they grow up and down the spinal cord, penetrating the site of the injury.

When the gel was injected into mice with a spinal cord injury, after six weeks the animals had a greatly enhanced ability to use their hind legs and walk.

The research is published today in the April 2 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

"We are very excited about this," said lead author John Kessler, M.D., Davee Professor of Stem Cell Biology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. "We can inject this without damaging the tissue. It has great potential for treating human beings.

"Kessler stressed caution, however, in interpreting the results. "It's important to understand that something that works in mice will not necessarily work in human beings. At this point in time we have no information about whether this would work in human beings."

"There is no magic bullet or one single thing that solves the spinal cord injury, but this gives us a brand new technology to be able to think about treating this disorder," said Kessler, also the chair of the Davee Department of Neurology at the Feinberg School. "It could be used in combination with other technologies including stem cells, drugs or other kinds of interventions."

“We designed our self-assembling nanostructures -- the building blocks of the gel -- to promote neuron growth,” said co-author Samuel I. Stupp, Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, and Medicine and director of Northwestern’s Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine. “To actually see the regeneration of axons in the spinal cord after injury is a fascinating outcome.

”The nano-engineered gel works in several ways to support the regeneration of spinal cord nerve fibers. In addition to reducing the formation of scar tissue, it also instructs the stem cells --which would normally form scar tissue -- to instead to produce a helpful new cell that makes myelin. Myelin is a substance that sheaths the axons of the spinal cord to permit the rapid transmission of nerve impulses.

The gel's scaffolding also supports the growth of the axons in two critical directions -- up the spinal cord to the brain (the sensory axons) and down to the legs (the motor axons.) "Not everybody realizes you have to grow the fibers up the spinal cord so you can feel where the floor is. If you can't feel where the floor is with your feet, you can't walk," Kessler said.

Now Northwestern researchers are working on developing the nano-engineered gel to be acceptable as a pharmaceutical for the Food & Drug Administration.

If the gel is approved for humans, a clinical trial could begin in several years.

"It's a long way from helping a rodent to walk again and helping a human being walk again," Kessler stressed again. "People should never lose sight of that. But this is still exciting because it gives us a new technology for treating spinal cord injury."

Drug makers chase cancer stem cells

As evidence implicating stem cells in cancer mounts, drug makers are taking notice. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in December formed a strategic alliance worth up to $1.4 billion with OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, of Redwood City, California. The deal gives GSK an option to license four of OncoMed's antibody candidates developed to target cancer stem cells, one of which is scheduled to enter clinical trials in June.

The GSK-OncoMed pact is the first major deal focused on cancer stem cell R&D, which is undergoing explosive growth. John Bates, the director of Biopharm Reports, in Cambridge, UK, says the number of companies devoted to this research has grown from 17 in April 2007 to nearly 40 today. What's more, patents covering developments in cancer stem cells doubled to about 70 in 2007, he adds. The problem is that not everyone even believes that targeting cancer stem cells will yield therapeutic benefits.

George Schreiner, CEO with Raven Biotechnologies in San Francisco, attributes the burst of commercial interest to recent evidence of cancer stem cells in solid tumors. Scientists have suspected since the 1950s that the cells play a role in blood tumors, such as acute myeloid leukemia, but their existence in solid tumors became evident only in 2003. That's when Michael Clarke, currently associate director of Stanford University's Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, and his then post-doc, Mohamed Al-Hajj, claimed to find cancer stem cells in breast tumors. The cells had two markers that are now synonymous with cancer stem cells: high expression of the antigen CD44 and low expression of antigen CD24. Isolated on the basis of these markers, the human cells were cultured and introduced into immunocompromised mice. Clarke and Al-Hajj found that only a few of the cells could spawn aggressive, metastatic tumors in the animals. Those findings bolstered a theory that solid tumors arise from a small population of cancer stem cells that, like normal stem cells, have the capacity for self-renewal. Clarke and his colleague Max Wicha, the director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, founded OncoMed to pursue clinical opportunities in cancer stem cells in 2004. They now sit on the company's scientific advisory board.

Findings in other laboratories have since suggested cancer stem cells exist in various tumors, including those of the brain, head and neck, prostate, and colon. Scientists further postulate that cancer stem cells resist current drug therapies and repair DNA after radiation treatment more efficiently than their differentiated, daughter cells. That explains why solid tumors often recur after treatment, Schreiner explains. "What happens is the stem cells survive and repopulate to form a new tumor," he says. "And because they transmit their resistance to daughter cells, the new tumors are much harder to treat." Some researchers now believe the only way to cure cancer is by killing the stem cells that give rise to it.

OncoMed is one of a handful of companies preparing to test compounds against cancer stem cells in the clinic. In the GSK deal, OncoMed receives an undisclosed, up-front payment in cash and equity investment, with $1.4 billion more tied to achieving milestones. Royalties on product sales would follow. OncoMed's lead candidate, a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) OMP-21M18, targets "a cancer stem cell pathway with broad applicability across multiple solid tumors," says Paul Hastings, the company's CEO.

Other companies preparing for clinical trials this year include Arius Research in Toronto, whose lead humanized IgG1 mAb targets a variant form of CD44 found in leukemia, breast, colon and prostate cancer cells. Also, Raven Biotechnologies has two mAbs in preclinical development: RAV17 (which targets the pancreatic assigned tumor marker PAN), which Schreiner says targets prostate as well as pancreatic cancer cells, and RAV18 (which targets ADAM-9), for colon and lung cancer. Raven is now preparing to merge with VaxGen, a San Francisco-based vaccine manufacturer, picking up needed cash reserves from a company with a depleted pipeline but plenty of manufacturing assets. Reflecting a broader trend in cancer drug development, most compounds targeting cancer stem cells are monoclonal antibodies, Bates says (see Table 1). MAbs predominate because they target antigens on the cell surface rather than processes inside the cell as small molecules do.

The chief safety concern with targeting cancer stem cells, Clarke warns, is that these mAbs might also attack normal stem cells that replenish damaged tissues. "The main thing is to ensure that we eliminate the malignant cancer stem cells only without affecting the normal stem cells," he says. "Whether we'll be able to do this is the billion dollar question that everyone wants to answer."

Meanwhile, as commercial entities grow up around it, skeptics question the validity of targeting cancer stem cells. Current thinking holds that a tiny population of stem cells can explain why cancers recur even when existing treatments kill off up to 99% of a given tumor. According to Bert Volgestein, a professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, tumors can be completely eradicated only if those small—and presumably drug-resistant—stem cell fractions are destroyed.

The tumor fraction contributed by stem cells ranges from a low of 0.1% to a high of 40%, and some reports have described tumors made entirely of stem cells. But Vogelstein also admits that if a tumor containing a large fraction of stem cells were almost completely eliminated by treatment, this would undermine the logic of targeting stem cells as the last, drug-resistant holdouts from which aggressive metastatic tumors would likely emerge refractive to treatment.
GSK's interest in OncoMed comes from a desperation "to tap into oncology space, an area in which it is particularly weak," says Sho Matsubara, an analyst with London-based Standard and Poor's Equity Research Division. Also, GSK's sales are assumed to decline in coming years, due to generic competition (Matsubara estimates a 7% drop annually for the next five years). It does have a compound of its own that may have shrunk breast tumors by attacking cancer stem cells. According to evidence described at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on December 17, six weeks' treatment with GSK's Tyverb (lapatinib), a small molecule used in conjunction with Xeloda (capecitabine) for late-stage breast cancer, slashed the number of stem cells by more than half among 30 women studied. Two-thirds of the women were reportedly cancer-free after follow-up treatment.

But others remain cautious as, in some instances, claims pointing to the existence of cancer stem cells have turned out to be wrong upon closer inspection. "More studies are needed to confirm that cancer stem cells were in fact targeted by Tyverb," Bates notes. "We need further evidence to show that cancer stem cells in humans have been fully characterized. And we need ways to demonstrate that a particular subpopulation of cells has been reduced by treatment," he notes.
Ultimately, the best evidence will come from more studies that show killing cancer stem cells improves patient survival, Bates says. For fast-moving cancers such as pancreatic tumors, the evidence may come sooner. In the case of slow-moving cancers, such as prostate, accumulating the necessary evidence could take more time, he points out.

'To dream big has always been my motto': CEO at 27

Very few people can boast of achievements that M Thiagarajan, the 29-year-old promoter, chief executive officer and managing director of Chennai-based Paramount Airways notched so early in his life.

At 27, on October 19, 2005 to be precise, he launched India's first and only 'business class' airline Paramount Airways. Before that he had set up Paramount Mills in Madurai when he was dabbling in business management.
Apart from that he is an avid stargazer and a hobby pilot. In fact, an interesting incident inside a flight simulator in Frankfurt sparked Thiagarajan's passion for aviation.

"A pilot friend of mine had invited me to view his 747 Jumbo Jet flight simulator in Frankfurt. I was seated in the simulator and my friend was called away. I began to idly press the buttons and fidget with the controls. I created enough chaos to bring the flight instructor running!" said he in an e-mailed interview with rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore. That incident played a crucial role in Thiagarajan turning into an aviator.

Despite coming from an illustrious family -- his grandfather Sri Karumuttu Thiagaraja Chettiar, a reputed name in the field of textiles and education founded Bank of Madura which has now merged with ICICI Bank -- this gutsy aviator says that he believes in functioning independently of the family connections. "I believe that one needs to blaze one's own path in life."
And that he has done time and again to prove his point. When most entrepreneurs thought of starting low-cost airlines like Air Deccan and Spice Jet, Thiagarajan purchased the next-generation aircraft from Embraer to give travellers an 'Elite flying experience'.

The other feather in the cap of this 29-year-old is that Paramount succeeded in making operational profits within two years of its existence and boasts of an attrition rate of employees of zero per cent.

Very soon Paramount will spread its wingspan across India � currently it services only the southern sector � for the company is in the process of buying 40 more Embraer jets.

How did it all begin? Who and what inspired you to start an airline business? You had also started Paramount Mills before starting the airlines business.

What made you venture into the airline business?
I've always been fascinated by aviation and astronomy. Stargazing is a hobby and the wide expanse of the skies has always captivated me. My first encounter with aviation began when I was holidaying in Germany [Images], many years ago.

A pilot friend of mine had invited me to view his 747 Jumbo Jet flight simulator in Frankfurt. I was seated in the simulator and my friend was called away. I began to idly press the buttons and fidget with the controls. I created enough chaos to bring the flight instructor running!

But the incident, humourous though it was, sparked a very real passion for aviation. After that I started taking the pilot in me seriously and joined the flying school near London .When the instructor there asked me to fly a Cessna, I told him I only flew 747s. It was an amazing feeling to become a full-fledged pilot with a license to fly!

At 26, I wanted to nurture my passion further taking advantage of the Open Skies policy in India, I decided to set up Paramount Airways. To dream big has always been my motto and it was my desire to create an organisation that would reflect excellence and give me an opportunity to set up a global brand.
By then, I had already established my own textile mills -- Paramount Mills in Madurai, which won a national award for the highest export of cotton products from the Textile Export Promotion Council Of India. My journey while establishing Paramount Mills began even as I was graduating in management.
Having decided to venture into the civil aviation sector I started to assiduously research the various existing business models of international airline companies. This was to primarily understand the trend that was ingrained in commercial aviation. I soon realised that I didn't want to imitate any model.
I knew Paramount had to be unique; a model created to bring out the true joy of flying, to cherish and celebrate the experience of air travel. Paramount Airways is a 'High Value Carrier' -- one that gives you the best comfort in the skies at the best possible price, affording you true value for money and a flying experience that has no parallel.

You come from a very illustrious family. Did that help you when you launched Paramount Airways?
We're a very traditional family with three generations of involvement in the textile industry. My grandfather, Sri Karumuttu Thiagaraja Chettiar was a doyen in the field of textiles who founded several educational institutes and the former Bank of Madura which has now merged with ICICI Bank.
The family is rooted in ethical and traditional values, which include teetotalism and vegetarianism. I have a great passion for literature. As for my educational qualifications, I'm a business management graduate and a qualified hobby pilot.
My grandfather was an industrialist and philanthropist who had made great strides in business and education. He has always been my inspiration. However, I have always functioned independently of the family business; I believe that one needs to blaze one's own path in life.

Are there any advantages/disadvantages of starting an airline business at such an early age?
It is my firm belief that age is never a stumbling block as long as your vision is clear and your commitment to your goals is always your top priority.

Did you start this business on your own? What was the reaction of your family when you started this business?
Yes, Paramount Airways is my brainchild. My family has always been very supportive of the venture. Perhaps my family was a tad surprised that I was seriously considering another venture apart from textiles, over which the family has had a strong hold for generations.

What distinguishes your style of operations from the rest in the space? Who are your competitors?
Paramount Airways, translated literally means the pinnacle or the highest summit -- the peak of excellence.
Paramount Airways is a growing aspirational brand designed with the comfort of the traveller in mind. Our flight pattern is such that there is a convenient flight all through the day to all the sectors we fly. The day return flights have been well received by the business traveller as a great advantage. So we have been able to put together an innovative package of services and offer value based excellence to the discerning flyer.

This has fired the imagination of the customer who is value driven and appreciates a good brand when he sees one. We have differentiated ourselves as a value-based airline in terms of customer-orientation and have been categorised as a 'High Value Carrier' -- a model that is now being followed by other airlines across the world.

Can you share with us the secret behind Paramount Airways making operational profits with only two years into operations when other big airlines struggle to do it?
Dreaming big, a clear vision and sheer hard work makes the impossible, the often untried, happen!

How do you manage an attrition rate of zero per cent at Paramount Airways?
Quite simply -- we provide an excellent environment that nurtures and supports employees at all levels.
We have structured and well managed training programs, which, as a continuous improvement practice, is a great motivator and engages the employees while on the job. Apart from this, we involve each department in leisure pursuits outside of the office, in order for them to bond better and de-stress.

We also have established clear career paths bringing in technology and best international practices in our processes and systems. Our functional heads in key areas have international exposure, having run global airlines. All this, in addition to the right attitude in addressing employee related issues has minimised our attrition.

We also have specific employee recognition programs and send letters of commendation to those who excel at their tasks.

If somebody has to join Paramount Airways, what are the skills/qualities that you look out for in your potential staff?
I essentially look for the qualities of a winner -- someone who deeply believes in the company's ideals, would be willing to go that extra mile and are completely committed. We basically look for dynamic, creatively inspired individuals. Experience takes a back seat to attitude.

Any important message for young entrepreneurs who'd also want to make it big in life like you did?
My message to young entrepreneurs and readers is this -- persevere endlessly while believing in yourself and your dreams. Nurture your strength of mind and your power of conviction, while exploring our rich heritage and traditional roots. Live life to the fullest and contentment will always be yours!
What are your plans to make Paramount Airways the best airline in India/World?
Right now, the focus is on nurturing and further enhancing our loyal client base, providing as much of value as we can to the entire experience of flying to our 'Elite Travellers'.
I'm happy that Paramount has achieved global recognition for its unique model and has clearly established a leadership position in the Southern skies where we fly with a 26 per cent market share. What I am really proud of is the fact that Paramount through its unique offering and value-based service excellence has redefined airline travel in the country.

Concepts such as 'fine dining in the sky' with a four-course meal served in opulence and style on our aircraft and other fringe benefits such as valet service, 30 kgs baggage allowance (which is the highest when compared to the economy classes of other airlines), no cramped middle seats, the highest cabin crew per passenger ratio in the world on domestic sectors -- all translates into exceptional comfort and value.

Whether it is the gilded crockery or the linen serviette or the personal warm attention that our cabin crew gives to every passenger, our goal is to pamper our passengers. Every service we provide has been carefully tailor made for this. We take special care to ensure that our signature cuisine is created especially to suit our different clientele's tastes in various sectors that we fly.

A lot of care and effort has gone into seeing that a Paramount experience is a personal experience. We remain the first airline in the world to introduce an 'All Business Class' service bringing in quality differentiation in the basic offering itself. I have often heard people say that flying in a Paramount is akin to flying a corporate jet.

All this is a reflection of the business model that we arrived at after intensive research to understand the psyche of the typical passenger in the flying sector, his need for luxury, comfort and good service, the various business practices in the industry, even at the international level. Today we have largely succeeded in getting the discerning passenger to look at Paramount seriously primarily because of the fact that we are differentiated from the rest and appeal to his sense of belonging.

We have created a product that is aligned with the passengers' beliefs on moving up the ladder as per Maslow's theory of needs. With quality-edge and premium positioning we would like to establish our brand wherever we operate.
Winning the International Arch of Europe Award in the Gold Category in Frankfurt in February 2007 has helped reaffirm our goals. When I received the award from Mr Jose. E.Prieto, Executive President and CEO of the Business Initiatives Directions, he said and I quote "The awarded companies are symbols of commitment to leadership, technology and innovation which make them models for other companies in their sectors."

While the industry was focusing only on Airbus and Boeing we were the first to introduce the next-generation aircraft from Embraer which fly-by-wire. While giving the air-traveller a completely new experience we also made sure of our operational efficiency through this highly fuel efficient jets.

As for our future goals, we would like to saturate and consolidate our leadership position in the south and then get into the western India market which should happen shortly. We shall adopt the same strategy connecting Tier II and Tier III cities with the hub expanding and penetrating the market where possible.
We are in the process of acquiring 40 more Embraer jets over a period of time till 2011. Once we saturate and establish leadership in the western market we aim to have a National footprint by 2011.