A monthly newsletter of Biocon Academy

IN THIS ISSUE PG 1. COVER STORY

QCA Batch 1 – Launch

& Industrial Training at

Thermo Fisher

Scientific, IIT-Bombay

PG 3. IN

CONVERSATION WITH

GUEST LECTURER

Mr Sethumadhavan

Sankaran, Vice

President, Drug

Substance, Biocon

Biologics, Malaysia

PG 4. HAPPENINGS AT

BIOCON ACADEMY

Sneak-Peak into

Cultural day and

Industrial training at

IIT-Bombay

COVER STORY

QCA Batch 1 - Launch & Industrial Training at Thermo Fisher Scientific, IIT-

Bombay

The Quality Control Analytical course was launched on August 16, 2019. The first batch of Biocon Ramaiah

Certificate Program in Quality Control Analytical had 16 students for the inaugural program. The course has

been designed and structured in a way that it focusses on the requirements of Quality Control/Quality

Assurance in the pharma & biopharma industry. The students had rigorous theoretical and practical sessions

in classrooms and Biocon facility respectively. The focus was not restricted to the development of technical

skills but also included soft skills training for the all-round development of the students, helping them become

thorough professionals.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is the training partner for Quality Control Analytical course. As a part of the

curriculum, the students of QCA Batch 1, underwent a world class hands-on training at Thermo Fisher

Scientific - Centre of Excellence at IIT-Bombay from October 7 – 11, 2019. The training program was

structured to make the students become well verse in handling analytical instruments in the Quality

laboratories of pharma companies. The sessions included advanced training on Gas Chromatography and

Liquid Chromatography where they learnt about Gas Mass Spectroscopy, Ultra-High Performance Liquid

Chromatography, Computer-Aided Design manufacturing, etc. They were taken through the operations and

applications of Molecular Spectroscopy. Training on Inductive Coupled Plasma- Atomic emission

spectroscopy and ICP Mass Spectroscopy were also a part of the training program; these instruments are

efficient in detecting chemical elements in the sample and is widely used in the pharma industries.

The one week of hands-on-training has been a roller coaster ride for the students; full of learning, knowledge

sharing, skill development and making lot of happy memories in Mumbai. We are grateful for our

collaboration with our education partner M S Ramaiah College of Arts, Science & Commerce & our training

partner Thermo Fisher Scientific. Both these organizations have been instrumental in making the students

industry ready through this unique program as they set to establish themselves as young budding

professionals.

VOL 7 | 2019

It has been an exhilarating month for us since the launch of the QCA program. I am elated to see

the students are so career-oriented and possess a thirst for knowledge. The role of Quality Control

professionals involves analyzing & assaying the samples & raw materials and the product during

every phase of its manufacture. They are responsible for conducting chemical and biological

analysis of raw materials, products, and the environment. As most of this work is conducted in a

laboratory setting, a strong level of mastery in basic laboratory work, analytical instrumentation

and method are required along with a general understanding of the processes and compliance with

good manufacturing practices. In the current scenario, the fresh talent pool that is passing out from

college possess the theoretical knowledge with negligible or no understanding of industrial

processes or industry requirements. Every year over 63,000 students with degrees in Chemistry

and Biochemistry pass out in India from around 1500 colleges. Of these, nearly 14,000 students fall

under ‘talent deficit’ segment who are not employable. These numbers reflect the acute need for

a program that imparts quality education and addresses the skill gaps. The QCA program is aimed

to address these needs and provide the required training & exposure to the students so that they

understand both the strong regulatory framework and develop the right skill-sets to work on high-

end laboratory instrumentation. The program is going well with great support from MSR faculties,

Thermo Fisher Scientific and our own in-house Biocon subject matter experts. We had a very

successful placement drive on 17th October, 2019 and we look forward to hear from the recruiting

companies.

All the very best dear students!

MS BINDU AJIT

PROGRAM DEAN,

BIOCON ACADEMY

Message from the Program Dean

Faculty Spotlight

DR. A. NAGARATHNA, PRINCIPAL

- RAMAIAH COLLEGE OF ARTS,

SCIENCE & COMMERCE (RCASC)

Dr. Nagarathna comes with 31 years of rich teaching experience and 22 years of

experience in research and development. She has been awarded the ‘Best Scientist

Award’ in 2009. She has also won the Certificate of Excellence for the outstanding

achievement and service to society in the field of Education and Research in Bio-

Technology by PRCI and Rotary Club, Bangalore.

On the launch of QCA program she says, “RCASC takes great pride in collaborating with

Biocon Academy for addressing the skill gaps in Quality Control. We are pleased to be

associated with this initiative and we are humbled to be the education partner. Biocon

Academy is truly an incubation center for students wishing to embark a career in

biosciences. Besides the classroom sessions by the industry stalwarts, special hands -on

training provided to students makes the students ready to face the real world industry

challenges.”

Anushree Srinivasa Murthy, Biocon Ramaiah Certificate Program in Quality Control Analytical (Batch 1)

has made a mark with her maiden research publication on Docking study of selected Calotropis

gigantea leaves constituents on Dengue Viral Proteins – an In-Silico approach in European Journal of

Pharmaceutical and Medical Research. It is an International peer reviewed journal for Pharmaceutical,

Medical & Biological Sciences.

She has completed her MSc. in Biochemistry from Ramaiah College of Arts, Science and Commerce and

is currently pursuing Quality Control Analytical course at Biocon Academy. In her study she has deduced

the best docking fit from the constituents of Calatropis gigantea, a medicinal plant commonly known

as ‘Crown flower’ with seven different non-structural proteins of Dengue virus by In-Silico analysis. In

the study she has used different types of bioinformatics tools like ChemSketch, IGem dock, Rasmol and

Pymol etc. The hydrogen bond, its energy, amino acid and its position with respect to constituents

extracted from Calatropis gigantea and seven proteins of the dengue virus is determined through these

tools.

Know more: https://www.ejpmr.com/home/abstract_id/4441

In Conversation With

MR SETHUMADHAVAN

SANKARAN, VICE

PRESIDENT, DRUG

SUBSTANCE, BIOCON

BIOLOGICS, MALAYSIA

“Affordability and innovation are enabling us to reach patients across the globe. The recent

announcement by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw at UNAIDS Health Innovation Exchange side

meeting, to reduce the prices of rh-insulin at less than 10 US cents to enable affordable

access to life-saving therapy for patient in low and middle-income countries which is an

example of bringing affordability and accessibility of diabetes care in undeveloped &

developing countries.”

Mr. Sethumadhavan Sankaran delivers guest lectures at Biocon Academy on a regular

basis. He has 23 year of experience in the field of manufacturing and operations. Currently,

he is a Vice President of Insulin Production in Biocon Malaysia. He has been heading

operations and manufacturing of Insulin and Analogs at Biocon for over 5 years.

In a fireside chat with Biocon Academy, Mr. Sethumadhavan talks about the large scale

complex engineering used in the production of Insulin development and how Biocon

Academy is adding immense value to the budding professionals who are seeking career in

the biotech sector.

Read his full interview: Click here

ANUSHREE SRINIVASA

MURTHY, BIOCON RAMAIAH

CERTIFICATE PROGRAM IN

QUALITY CONTROL

ANALYTICAL - BATCH 1

1. Your body cells, particularly neurons, love the sugar glucose. This is the

reason that your body closely regulates the level of glucose in your blood.

Your brain would literally starve without it.

Read more: https://bit.ly/2MogwIu

2. Catalia Health uses a personal robot assistant, Mabu, to help patients

managing chronic diseases. Move over, Alexa and Siri. The talking Mabu robot

provides one-to-one support while relaying information to doctors.

Read more: https://bit.ly/2MeXp4G

Students Corner

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For suggestions and feedback, please write to us at:

educonnect@bioconacademy.com

Know more about us: www.bioconacademy.com

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING AT IIT-BOMBAY

GLIPMSES

THE CULTURAL DAY