Jayaram Chigurupati, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Zenotech Laboratories, died under mysterious circumstances in a reported road accident near Nandigama in Andhra Pradesh late Thursday night.

He is survived by wife and two children. They stay in Florida, United States of America (USA).

A Non-Resident Indian (NRI), Jayaram established nearly 10 ventures in three decades. The ventures have been set-up across various sectors including in pharmaceuticals, finance, animation and media. But, the innovator also had to fight several battles with multinationals, face employee wrath and regulators through his three decades of professional career.

The student and leader

Jayaram completed his PhD from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) in molecular genetics and holds an MBA from the Cornell University, USA. “Jayaram was a pioneer in recombinant DNA, monoclonal antibodies work in the private sector in India. His energy, vision and research drive will be missed” said Uma Devi, a long time Associate and President of Hemarus Therapeutics, the venture started by Jayaram in 2011.

A bright student and leader of the Union in UoH, Jayaram began his journey with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, driving their new drug development, biotechnology and international business as well as led a research group. He was the Executive Vice-President of the overall biotechnology division and recombinant research.

The Zenotech story

Hailing from Krishna district, the entrepreneur in him overtook a comfortable career job and he launched several ventures like Trimurti Plant Sciences, Viral Therapeutics and Techtran Polylenses.

However, his venture Zenotech Laboratories in 2003 not only made him famous but also pushed him into deep troubles. He established a research - cum - production facility in Turkapally, which is situated on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The facility also got the approval of the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Within a few years the company launched monoclonal antibodies and a biological product which attracted experts from Ranbaxy.

The Indian Pharma giant invested into Zenotech giving a big boost to Jayaram and Zenotech efforts. It was short lived as Ranbaxy was sold to Japanese pharmaceuticals major Dai ichi Pharma. In the biggest Pharma deal, Zenotech and Jairam got caught in the crossfire. His claims for better valuation for his stake led to legal and regulatory challenges over a decade.

The litigation went to the Company Law Board, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)and other courts with Ranbaxy taking over the company. Hundreds of staff members, hence, faced many difficulties. As Jayaram struggled, he diversified into Hemarus Biologicals, which quickly produced blood related products.

Jayaram’s media ventures

At another level, he floated an animation venture called ‘ Laughing Lion’, which had grown in a significant manner and was eventually sold.. Jayaram dabbled into media with Express TV with a failure, which brought him lot of criticism and problems. Simultaneously he started Coastal Bank and tried his hand in the banking sector. His issues with Zenotech sale, financial ventures also could have attracted enemies

His death is a loss to entrepreneurship, especially since Jayaram was versatile and built companies in different sectors. Both Zenotech Labs & Hemarus Biologicals had a range of biotech and blood related products that were successful in the market”, said Sushil Chandani, an independent research consultant, who knew him well.

At the time of his death Jayaram was running Hemarus Therapeutics in Hyderabad and its US-based venture called Hemarus LLC. He was the Managing Director (MD) of two banks-Coastal Local Area Bank and KBS Bank as well as Cypress Capital in the US.

According to the Andhra Pradesh police, the body of Jayaram was found in the back seat of a car near rice fields which had veered off the State highway road on Thursday night. They were able to identify the body with the help of the ID card present on it.

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