Shrilakshmi Desiraju
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Contacting Dr. Shrilakshmi Desiraju –
Director, Business Development at Triphase Pharma (P) LTD2009 to present
Studied at Vikram University, Ujjain
Lives in Bangalore, IndiaFrom Edmonton, Alberta
Summary
Specialties:Technology Commercialisation, Strategy management, Medicinal Chemistry
Experience
Projects
Development of Selenium enriched Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to serve as a dietary supplement
–
The
aim of the project was to provide yeast cells with selenium so that it
would be incorporated into specific amino acids, thus attaining an
organic form. The idea is that the bioavailability of the mineral
increases by several fold when it is provided in an organic form.
Education
University of Alberta
MBA, Technology and Commercialisation
Activities and Societies: Executive member of NET IMPACT, a CSR organisation
Indian Institute of Science
Post Doctoral, Peptide Chemistry
Had a oppurtunity to work in Prof. P. Balaram's ( a well known peptide chemist) Lab.
Tell us about yourself and your background
I
grew up in Ujjain, a small and historical town in the Indian state of
Madhya Pradesh. Being born in a family where both parents were
professors, I grew up in an academic environment. My passion for
chemistry inspired me to gain a Doctorate in Organic Chemistry from
Vikram University in Ujjain. After this, I went on to do two
Post-Doctoral fellowships – one at one of India’s most prestigious
chemical labs, The National Chemical Laboratories in Pune, and another
one at India’s premier institution for Science – The Indian Institute of
Science in Bangalore. After this, I immigrated to Canada and worked for
next 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry. I joined NAEJA
Pharmaceutical in Edmonton Canada (working on Pfizer projects) as a
senior research scientist. Not satisfied with being restricted to
creating molecules, I wanted to move to the people side of the industry.
I enjoyed the thrill of interacting with the users of my products. An
MBA from the University of Alberta in Technology Commercialisation
followed. The technology communication specialisation allowed me to find
the connection of science with business. After the first year I was
back into NAEJA as a – Business Development Associate.
Apart from my professional
qualifications, I love outdoors activities such as hiking and skydiving.
I have also been involved in volunteering for various causes.
Tell us about the company you have set up – when did you set it up, what products or services do you provide, what is your target market?
Triphase
Pharma became functional once I returned back to India in 2009.
Relocating from Canada to India I started Triphase Pharma, initially, as
a services company. In 2011, a chance meeting with Dr Gautam Das gave
me clarity and direction. Dr Das asked me: ‘What motivates you?’ My
immediate answer was ‘to make the company a giant’ to which he said ‘the
service industry cannot make you big, but R&D can!’
Life had come full circle and I was back
to my foundation – R&D. Triphase Pharma began its journey of
innovation in the field of Probiotics in 2011. Since the journey began,
Triphase has launched three products; Viz, a probiosac for the cure of
acute travellers and antiobiotic assisted diarrhoea; Lactovag, for
gynecological health; and trigizyme, for gastritis. Physicians can
prescribe all of this products and the target market is domestic
pharmaceutical prescription users, physicians and consumers.
Why did you set up the company? / What drove you to become an Entrepreneur?
71% of entrepreneurs find the
inspiration for their business idea from their employment. What I learnt
at NAEJA motivated me to set out on my own path in the pharmaceutical
industry and more specifically in probiotics. Antibioticaddiction in
India is painting a scary picture, as there are no new classes of
antibiotics available to treat patients who are infected with antibiotic
resistant bacteria.
Around 2009 I was bitten by two bugs –
the entrepreneurial bug and the passion to create probiotic bugs to
solve India’s health challenges, as I felt they are in the hour of need.
What has been your biggest challenge in achieving your success?
Initially, lack of information about how
to set up, how to go about looking for funds and how to set a team were
the biggest challenges.
What has been your greatest achievement so far?
Apart from multiple awards and
recognition, I think the biggest achievement was to motivate the core
team. We started operations in Bangalore and shifted all operations to
Mysore. The team shifted their families and relocated to Mysore to make
Triphase Pharma what it is today.
Who has been your biggest inspiration?
My biggest inspiration came from my own
quarters. My parents, especially my mother, were very hard working and
had set the bar high right from childhood. My brother, though younger,
is a naval officer and has been a high achieverprofessionally. He was
awarded the president’s medal at the age of 23 for his services. My
husband, who has fought all odds to be where he is, is also a big
inspiration. I derive inspirations from them and keep doing what I am
doing.
How do you balance your work life and home life?
I am not very good at this yet though
but the policy and procedures that I apply at work are similar to the
way I tend to replicate the model at home.
What advice do you have for women starting out on their own?
Perseverance is the key to success. I
have realised that if one has perseverance then nothing will get in your
way. Businesses become successful or fail, due to this and only this.
Can you recommend any organisations or networking groups that have particularly helped you on your journey?
I have been a part of WE CONNECT and
Emerg since 2011 and these two organisations have helped me to grow as
female entrepreneur and make some really good friends.
If you could ask for one thing to help propel your business what would it be?
Good mentoring is the key for businesses
to grow and sustain successfully. Mentors can help you in giving
directions on what you should not do and that will support you in trying
not to reinvent the wheel.
What does the future hold for you?
I believe Triphase has a bright future.
To quote two poems of Frost: ‘I took the road less travelled and that
has made all the difference.’ Yet, the journey has just begun…. ‘and
they have many more miles before I can sleep’.
About Dr. Shrilakshmi Desiraju –
Dr.
Shrilakshmi Desiraju is an first generation Technocrat entrepreneur
with over 19 years of R&D and leadership experience in the
pharmaceutical sector. She is a co-founder of Triphase Pharmaceuticals
pvt.ltd – a probiotic pharmaceutical company.
Dr. Desiraju has been involved in the
strategic planning and implementation of growth for her current
organisation. A state of art research and development wing for probiotic
research at Mysore and sales offices in south of India and in Prince
Edward Island, Canada has been established since 2009.
Under the leadership of Dr. Desiraju,
Triphase has successfully launched three prescription drugs in India
since 2009 and three new ingredients in North American market.
Dr. Desiraju holds a PhD degree in Medicinal Chemistry from the Vikram University Ujjain (M.P.), Post doctoral from IISC, Bangalore and has a MBA degree in Technology Commercialisation from University of Alberta, Canada. She has a strong publication record in both scientific and business publications and is recipient of several international awards.
Dr. Desiraju holds a PhD degree in Medicinal Chemistry from the Vikram University Ujjain (M.P.), Post doctoral from IISC, Bangalore and has a MBA degree in Technology Commercialisation from University of Alberta, Canada. She has a strong publication record in both scientific and business publications and is recipient of several international awards.
Triphase is recipient of the following awards:
1) ET-POI 2016, Winner (Economic Times – Power of India) was awarded by CIIE, IIMA, DST, Jio Reliance.
2) FKCCI – 2015, Innovation excellence award from federation of Karnataka chambers of Commerce
3) INDIAs Small Giant – 2014 was awarded by MSME, Reliance and LIC INDIA as most promising small and medium size company.
4) Business women of the year – 2014 was awarded by Emerg, Bangalore.
2) FKCCI – 2015, Innovation excellence award from federation of Karnataka chambers of Commerce
3) INDIAs Small Giant – 2014 was awarded by MSME, Reliance and LIC INDIA as most promising small and medium size company.
4) Business women of the year – 2014 was awarded by Emerg, Bangalore.
Contacting Dr. Shrilakshmi Desiraju –
Congratulations to all the Award winners.
Business debutante of the year- Ms Geetadevi
Woman in Technology - Ms Pratibha
Woman Professional - Ms Mamatha Kapil sharma
Businesswoman of the year - Shrilakshmi Desiraju
ISG AWARD CEREMONY JULY 2014 in Delhi — with Aditya Desiraju.
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