Human Stem Cells: Could it be Used as Business too?

With the advancements in science and technology, the world has witnessed a sea of changes and developments. The startup world has not lagged behind either.

Here is the story of an entrepreneur who has redefined science through his product. In a candid conversation with IAAE Sub Editor Gairika Mitra, entrepreneur Vipul Jain spills the beans. Edited excerpts:

Tell us about your product in detail. What problem are you trying to solve?

Advancells, works in 4 different verticals. Firstly we produce basic Human Stem Cells that are used by partner hospitals and doctors in providing regenerative therapies to the patients. Advancells also writes protocols for therapies and provide training to doctors on various facets of regenerative medicine. In the second vertical, we produce organ, species and disease specific primary cells which are used by research institutes, academic institutes and pharma companies around the world to further their research in the field of biology and drugs.

In the third vertical, we produce our patented range of bio scaffolds which once seeded with our cells, are used in regeneration of bones, organs and healing of wounds. Fourthly, we print 3D human organs and finally seed our scaffolds with our primary cells and paste them on the 3D printed organ modals and try to create working modal of a human organ that can be used by pharma companies for drug discovery models. Our moonshot is to be able to produce a transplantable human artificial organ that can one day put an end to mortality rate due to non availability of transplantable human organs

We are essentially a B2B business where doctors and hospitals, research institutes, pharma companies etc are our clients, but we regularly get approached by a number of patients both from India and abroad who want our protocols for treatment. We do provide B2C services to such patients also.
We are currently operating out of our centralized lab in Noida, Delhi/NCR and are able to ship cells to various hospitals not just across India but also in various countries around the world.

How would you distinguish yourself among other players in the market?

There is no real credible competition for us. The big players in the market are primarily into cord blood banking and for them therapy is a side product on which they don’t concentrate. There are few very small doctors who practice regenerative medicine on their own but could never match up with the product catalogue or research backing that we have. A few large therapy focused companies are trying to make off the shelf, fit for all, type of product which is very different from our protocol that is all about personalized medicine.

How much investment went into your startup when you first started business?

Advancells is completely bootstrapped. We invested closer to US$5 Million as initial investment.

How much are you expecting this fiscal year?

We can expect to do revenue of approximately US$4 million this year.

What are your plans of scaling up in the near future?

The goal is to turn Advancells into the most primary force in regenerative medicine not only in India but in the world. Healthcare spent in the world in more than $8 Trillion and regenerative medicine has the potential to change this spent dramatically. We want Advancells to have the largest chunk of the pie in the near future.

Any advice for wannapreneurs?

Dream Big, think exponentially and stick with your plan. Success will come.