Various things around us can be a remedy to cure any illness or wound, but very few people are aware of these plants or herbs or materials which have other benefits as well other than the regular uses. One such content that has several purposes is silk. We often know silk as the oldest fibers that are known to the man and has the history as the most luxurious fabric.
There are silk sarees that were made 100 years ago, and they are used for many generations, which highlights the excellent strength and quality of the material. The non-textile usage of silk began in the 19th century when it was used as a suture material instead of the traditional metal wires. India is the second-largest producer of silk in the world, where Karnataka alone produces 70% of the country’s total mulberry silk. One such explorer of silk is Vivek Mishra, who is working on the usage of silk in wound healing products with the help of his startup – Fibroheal Woundcare.
The beginning of the journey
Belonging to a small village in Deoria district, Uttar Pradesh, Vivek Mishra is the co-founder and CEO of Fibroheal Woundcare Pvt. Ltd. and currently lives in Bangalore, Karnataka. He completed his schooling from Government Higher Secondary School in Seppa, Arunachal Pradesh, and pursued B. Phar from College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Berhampur, Odisha. After this, he completed his MBA in General Management from the University of Pune.
Fibroheal Woundcare Pvt. Ltd. works in the non-textile application of silk protein to develop the most innovative, cost-effective wound healing products for acute/chronic wounds or non/slow healing or difficult to heal wounds. The firm is biotechnology driven, research-focused, a healthcare company, pioneers in the field of using silk as a biomaterial and use its medicinal properties. The initial support in the form of a grant for product development care was given from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.
The firm is also registered under the Startup India and Startup Karnataka schemes. They are also awarded as one of the winners of ELEVATE 2019, and recognized as the most innovative startup from Startup Karnataka from Government of Karnataka.
Aim of Fibroheal Woundcare
Fibroheal Woundcare Pvt. Ltd. has wanted to bring a socio-economic multiplier effect with our innovation and work i.e., from silk growers (farmers side), surgeons (user side), and patients. The facility is located very close to the silk city of Karnataka, so the availability of good silk and raw materials is not a big problem for their manufacturing. They are creating low cost, affordable, and highly effective products and they are enhancing the farmer’s income and improving the economics of silk production in India.
Along with this, the firm also has two eminent stalwarts to guide the mentors and advisors, Mr. Bharat Tandon- Founder of Vetcare and Mr. Subramanian Shivaraman- Co-founder of second largest sutures company in India called Sutures India.
The challenges
Like every startup, Vivek and his startup faced several challenges in the offset of their firm and how they decided to overcome these challenges. These challenges are:
- Funding: Started the operations in 2017 with internal investment. Later raised money in small angel investments, government grants and generated more revenues from sales.
- Right Hiring: Finding the right talent for the platform was a difficult task for the startup company.
- Regulatory Clarity: Hired professionals to guide and help the firm in getting regulatory clearance.
- Maintaining liquidity in the company: With a commitment and experiences, sales have excellent hospital and distribution networks to operate at ground level.
- Research and Technical Guidance: They collaborated with institutions like IISc- Bangalore, IIT- Guwhati for technical support and guidance for research and development and Department HOD’s of few reputed institutions as Medical advisors, mentors, and KOL’s guide us on market need, products, and its performance.
Collaborations and the first milestone
The firm has collaborated with reputed institutions and organizations like IISc & IIT, CSRTI – Mysore, CSB (Central Silk Board) – Bangalore & AIIMS Trauma Centre, Delhi, etc. These collaborations helped them create a great platform to learn from industry experts, researchers, and medical fraternity who are the key business clients.
The first milestone for the company was when they were able to clear the regulatory clearance for the state-of-art facility and when they received the very first order for their products from a reputed Government hospital.
The current growth and vision
The firm’s growth sees a high trajectory, and their products are accepted well in the market, users are satisfied with the performance of the products, and they are getting a fantastic response from surgeons and patients. Their new products are on the production line, which will be launched by 2021.
The company aims to be the most respected and innovative wound management company that is out there, helping many surgeons by solving their problems in the process of helping various silk growers, generating employment for many, and providing affordable products with high quality.
