BENGALURU: Roughly 46,000 people die of snakebites in India every year, accounting for nearly half of the 1,00,000 persons whose lives get snuffed out all over the world due to envenomation. Most of the deaths occur due to a delay in identifying the type of snake that bit the patient. However, such a situation will be a thing of the past since Indriyam Biologics, a Thiruvananthapuram-based startup, has developed a snake venom detection biosensor.
The startup, founded by Dr Dileepkumar R and Dr Anaswara Krishnan, has also developed an upgraded antivenom and automated bio-diesel machine. The startup that was founded in May 2017 was in the minds of the founders for nearly 10 to 12 years. “As researchers working on snake venom, we both thought of converting our research experience into products that impact humans. We jointly started a biotech venture in 2017. We also wanted to do our bit in environmental protection by ensuring sustainable energy solutions for future generation,” said Dr Anaswara Krishnan.
They set up Indriyam, incubated at SCTIMST-TIMed (Technology Business Incubator for Medical Devices & Biomaterials) at Poojappura in Thiruvananthapuram, with a seed amount of Rs 10 lakh and later on got a grant of Rs 50 lakh from BIRAC (IIPME). “The other agencies that funded our projects are BIRAC (SBIRI), KSUM, NIDHI PRAYAS (DST) and NIDHI seed fund support from DBT,” she said.
Besides this, the anti-venom project of Indriyam has been allocated a fund of Rs 1 crore by BIRAC. According to Dr Anaswara, the biosensor works by identifying the snake responsible for the envenomation.
“Once the snake is identified, the doctors will be able to administer the right anti-venom and hence, save the patient,” she said. We have been recognised by the DSIR, DIPP and Start-up India for our innovative products, she said.
“We are also collaborating with the University of Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman, Amrita University and Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology,” she said.
Indriyam has also industrial collaborations with M/s Qesmat Sabz in Afganistan. Besides developing innovative devices to help snakebite patients, the startup has also come with innovation in the bioenergy sector. “The project aims to convert waste oil like cooking oil into biodiesel. Of course, there are such plants in the world. However, they are huge and can’t be used for domestic purposes. This is where our innovation lies. We have come up with a compact device that will be able to convert 500 litres of waste oil into 500 litres of biodiesel,” she said.
However, all the products are at the prototype level. “We will be able to complete the bio-diesel and biosensor projects in two to three months,” she said. Meanwhile, the startup is in the process of attracting a Rs 500 crore investment for its expansion.
In a nutshell
Indriyam Biologics Pvt Ltd, a Thiruvananthapuram-based startup, has developed a snake venom detection biosensor
It has also developed an automated bio-diesel machine
Indriyam was set up with a seed amount of Rs 10 lakh and later got a grant of Rs 50 lakh from BIRAC
The anti-venom project got another Rs 1 crore from BIRAC