Erasavir and Love Thyself came together to host a day dedicated to improving the body
Breathe at SkyTurf involved a wide range of sports and athletic activities
Drawing inspiration from respiration, Erasavir and Rahul Roy’s Love Thyself breathed new life into sporting enthusiasts of Kolkata at Karnani Estates’ SkyTurf on January 14. The day-long fitness carnival, titled ‘Breathe’, witnessed a plethora of sporting activities and discerning panel discussions on what it means to be ‘fit’ in a post-pandemic world.
(L-R): Disha Roy Chowdhury, Anupam Dokeniya and Darpan Roy Chowdhury
Ideated and developed during the pandemic by Dino Rotondo, chief of immunology at Strathclyde University, Scotland, Erasavir is a plant-based oral and nasal spray brand founded by Anupam Dokeniya and the brother-sister duo of Darpan and Disha Roy Chowdhury. “Erasavir started because we wanted to develop nature-based preventive care for Covid-19. However, after the pandemic ended, we realised that the product can be put to use for a whole lot of other ailments as well,” stated Darpan. “It’s inspired by mother’s milk. It contains food-grade fatty acids, which the body needs but doesn’t produce,” added Dokeniya. “Our main aim is to make people breathe better. This is why we wanted to conduct an event where fitness enthusiasts, who tend to focus on clean breathing more than the general populace, can come together,” said Disha before diving into the lineup for the day.
From cricket to football to Muay Thai and more
GridIron emerged as overall winners, not least because of their performance in football
The event hosted both competitive and demonstrative sports. An intense cricketing showdown amongst gyms and sporting clubs in the early hours of the winter morning witnessed team Friction emerging champions. After a round of quick warm-ups, a two-hour slot was dedicated to the toddlers of the city, where creative races and hurdles paved the way for children to be introduced to fitness via play. “I really liked the race and watching football. This place is a lot of fun!” chimed in five-year-old Ayaanah Mehra.
Kajal Singh, 18, helmed the girls of the Calcutta Social Project NGO as the captain of their football team. “My girls and I are participating in a five-a-side knockout football tournament. We have won our qualifying matches and are eagerly waiting for the finals. We are thoroughly enjoying the day. Being able to observe so many coaches demonstrating their skills is an opportunity of a lifetime,” said the Muralidhar Girls’ School student. In the grand scheme of things, GridIron emerged as the overall champion of the competitive sports section, with wins in football as well as tug of war.
James Liao and his team
Establishing norms of alternative fitness, James Liao and his team’s energetic Chinese dragon dance drew in onlookers with striking patterns and swift movements. “We’re overjoyed at witnessing Indians appreciating our culture so wholeheartedly. We perform the dance not just as a cultural practice anymore, but also as a form of sport that requires tremendous shoulder and core strength,” said Liao.
A captivating display of the art of eight limbs followed. “What makes Muay Thai (a type of combat sport) different is the use of elbows and knees. Children as young as three can begin practising Muay Thai and continue well into old age. It’s truly heartwarming to see an event such as this being hosted. It allows people exposure to a bevy of sports under one roof and allows them to choose what fits them the best,” stated Lionel Hupping, owner and head coach of Supremacy India.
‘Fitness before the pandemic was about aesthetics, now it’s about strength’
The panel discussions at the event delved into the meaning of fitness in today’s times
What set Breathe apart from run-of-the-mill sporting fests were the panel discussions interspersed with physical activities. Plant-based lifestyles, alternative medicine, health in the post-pandemic world and workplace wellness were some of the subjects navigated by industry veterans, including Sujoy Mukherjee, maxillofacial surgeon; Sharukh Rahim, boxer and proprietor of GridIron; Mrinalika Bhanjdeo, yoga enthusiast and director of The Belgadia Palace; Bidya Roy, professor and fitness expert who also conducted a zumba demonstration; and Neha Singh, yoga expert who exhibited breathwork techniques and corrective yoga poses.
Speaking on how the pandemic has changed viewpoints, Shikha Tiwari, CEO of Yogam, stated how people in the Covid era suffered more from fear than any physical ailments. Saurav Arora of Rave Fitness focused on preventive care while other panellists, including Samrat Sen of CoreFit, Aditi De of Dietmantra and Arko Dasgupta of Combat Clan, acknowledged that backwards was the only way forwards: “It’s important to go back to our roots. Fitness before the pandemic was about aesthetics, now it’s about strength. Have a balanced diet, avoid intermittent fasting, hydrate yourself and work out. These are the core mantras of life.”
Rugby by Jungle Crow, fencing by Santosh Pandey, karate by Shivaji Ganguly, a bodybuilding showcase by Biswajit Basak, an alpha omega showcase by Prajna Dutta, and Indian calisthenics by Abinash Kumar were also integral elements of the event, which featured electrifying tunes by DJ Basil. 8th Day cafe and bakery, Strong Cong, Red Bull, Ace Blend and Apollo Hospitals completed the event with great food, accessories and an on-site medical team.
Darpan is committed to exploring innovative areas in healthcare, and finding solutions which can make a difference. He is driven by a desire to create value in the Indian healthcare landscape. He co-founded ErasaVir amidst the pandemic, as he wanted to help the world return to an uninterrupted life. He is on a mission to serve as many people around the globe as possible, with a safe and easy protective solution. He is our go-to person for clearing hurdles and steering through icebergs to achieve the lofty goals imagined by the ErasaVir team.
Darpan also leads business development at Strassenburg Pharmaceuticals. His experiences have ranged from the pharmaceutical manufacturing and marketing sectors, to startups working on new technologies and services – including telemedicine, patient outcomes in healthcare and after-school education.According to him, solutions of any kind (especially in healthcare) must be empathetic to the realities of those they serve. ErasaVir to him represents a step in the right direction-a way to preserve our way of life and reduce the suffering of people worldwide.
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Dr. Dino Rotondo
Dr. Dino Rotondo
Dr. Rotondo serves as Senior Lecturer in Immunology, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS),University of Strathclyde, Glasgow UK. During his scientific career he has carried out extensive research on polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) – particularly in the domain of molecular and cellular mechanisms related to immune function. He has published key research papers on PUFAs and eicosanoid metabolites’ effects on cell function. Dr. Rotondo’s early research work on dexamethasone (1987), demonstrated its systemic anti-inflammatory actions in response to double-stranded RNA mimicking viral activation. This has now become centre-stage in the use of dexamethasone (abreakthrough drug) in thetreatment of Covid-19 hyperinflammation.
Dr. Rotondo serves as CSO at ErasaVir. He is responsible for the scientific rationale which forms the backbone of our platform, and leads our research efforts. He firmly believes that those who have the requisite knowledge to make a difference also have a great responsibility towards humanity – his commitment to ErasaVir is inspired by this belief.
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Dr. Kumaril Bhargava
Dr. Kumaril Bhargava
Dr. Kumar Bhargava is currently serving as a Chief Executive Officer at Serentrix Therapeutics, a specialty company with focus on ocular pain. Prior to Serentrix; Dr. Bhargava led the Strategic Innovation in External Research & Development Innovation group at Pfizer from 2009 – 2011. He has more than twenty years of experience in drug development and business expansion gained at Abbott Labs, American Pharmaceutical Partners, Procter & Gamble and Johnson and Johnson.Dr. Bhargava received the Chairman’s award given to selected employees for their distinguished performance at Abbott labs.
Dr. Bhargava leads activities related to product development for us. He is driven by the belief that innovations in drug development can radically improve health outcomes across the world.
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Dr. Vijay Tammara
Dr. Vijay Tammara
Dr. Tammara’s regulatory expertise spans both oral and injectable dosage forms of small molecules, peptides, proteins, monoclonal antibodies and vaccines. He also serves as Sefacor Inc’s Head of Regulatory Affairs – guiding them through the complex regulatory process pertaining to oncology drugs. Dr. Tammara has over 20 years of leadership experience in the field of global regulatory affairs, strategic drug development, and clinical strategy. He has made significant contributions to the approval of several products during his positions of leadership at biotech and large pharmaceutical companies, which includes serving as VP Regulatory Affairs at Frontage Labs and Nuron Biotech Inc., Director Regulatory Affairs at Merck & Co., Inc., Senior Associate Director at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and Assistant Director at Sanofi-Synthelabo in Worldwide Regulatory Affairs.
Prior to his industrial experience, he held positions of increasing responsibility in the Office of Clinical Pharmacology and Biopharmaceutics at the US FDA and received several FDA awards for excellence. Dr. Tammara advises us on all regulatory affairs and is committed to ensuring that people all around the world can benefit from ErasaVir’s unique properties.
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Soumitra Sen
Soumitra Sen
We call Soumitra ‘The Thinker’, as he has shaped his life thinking about innovative brands. He has spent more than 30 years in the advertising industry launching & building consumer brands like Becosules, Gelusil, Nasivion, Nise Gel, Calcium Sandoz, One Touch, Seven Seas etc. FMCG brands that he particularly takes pride in being associated with are Cinthol, Good Knight and Amul.
He has now dedicated himself to ensuring that the world gets back the power and the urge to lead an ‘uninterrupted life’ with the protective acumen of ErasaVir. Soumitra loves his books and is passionate about watching sports sans the ones that promote violence. He pursues the life story of his only daughter who is settled in Sydney by being in touch daily with her via Facetime, WhatsApp Video or Duo.
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Urvashi Guha
Urvashi Guha
Urvashi has been the quintessential creator all her life. She is forever in the quest of launching brands with innovative stories that touch the heart, mind and soul of the consumer. She has demonstrated this acumen in the past 25 years with brands like Becosules, Gelusil, Nasivion, Seven Seas, Calcium Sandoz, Botox, Juvederm, Philips, Becton Dickinson and others.
Her next milestone is to provide ErasaVir with the equity of an uninterrupted life that is trusted by consumers worldwide. In her spare time one can find her tending to the beautiful plants in her garden, dabbling with art, reading books and being a friend to her two talented daughters who are young women in their own right.
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Disha Roy Chowdhury
Disha Roy Chowdhury
Disha is a legal professional with experience in IP and civil Law. However, today she focuses on working with consumer products which seek to make a difference. Previously she served in the trademarks department at DP Ahuja, a reputed Intellectual property firm in Kolkata. Following this she was on the legal team at IJM (International Justice Mission) – an NGO that specialises in combatting issues of sex trafficking and child labour. Having a keen interest in people, she always sought roles where she could contribute to society in a meaningful way. During the second wave of the pandemic in India,Disha founded EasyMeds to help patients gain access to Covid-19 medications.
Her true passion, she says, lies in creating products and services that give people the opportunity to choose better. In a world of countless options, she aims to help brands with a difference communicate themselves to the consumer. At ErasaVir she is determined to create meaningful conversations with the global community, in order to inform and educate them in these trying times.
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Reva Mann
Reva Mann
Reva has almost a decade of experience in corporate legal affairs, and business management. After graduating from law school, Reva spent time at the Centre for Law and Policy Research followed by the United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (UN-MICT), before moving on to Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas as an associate. In addition, she serves as Managing Partner at J.S. Automobiles – a leading automobile distributor in northern India.
Reva brings with her a deep sensibility with respect to ‘Intellectual Property’ and ‘International Business Law’
considerations. Convinced that ErasaVir can make life better for a large number of consumers worldwide, she joined us to address all legal and operational concerns. Very soon, she will be traveling to the US in order to complete her LLM at Columbia University, New York.
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Deepnath Roy Chowdhury
Deepnath Roy Chowdhury
Deepnath has over 35 years of leadership experience in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. Having founded Strassenburg Pharmaceuticals in 1985, he has since gone on to build the organisation into a respected name in the country’s ethical pharmaceutical marketing sector. Under his aegis, Strassenburg has won several accolades for innovation, financial performance, employee satisfaction and contributions to society. Deepnath is also the immediate past president of the Indian Drug Manufacturer’s Association, and has a wealth of experience in liaising between corporate and governmental bodies. He strongly believes in India’s capabilities to provide the world with affordable, high-quality medication, and advises us on our manufacturing and marketing activities in the country.
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Hari Menon
Hari Menon
Hari Menon is the CEO of Bigbasket.com, a company he co-founded in December 2011 with a vision of setting up India’s finest online groceries delivery platform. Bigbasket, India’s largest online supermarket, delivers the entire range of groceries and a wide range of household products in 40 cities in India working closely with 30,000 farmers. It delivers more than 4,00,000 orders per day to 15 million customers, relying on a team of 29,000 people.
Hari and Bigbasket are recipients of prominent awards, namely – Consumer Internet Company of the Year by VC Circle Awards 2016; Ranked 4th by YourStory in the Top 100 Indian startups with gravity defying momentum in 2015; Best Startup of the year in 2014 by Bangalore Management Association; Best Online Grocer at the Coca Cola Golden Spoon Awards 2016; First runner up (Silver) at the Global eCommerce Summit Awards held in Barcelona; Best Retail and eCommerce App of the Year at the AWS Mobility Awards 2017; Rated the Top Brand in the Forrester’s India Customer Experience Index 2016. To his independent credit, Hari has been awarded for entrepreneurship by the Indira Group of Institutions; AUDI-RITZ ICON AWARDS from RITZ lifestyle magazine in the category of Entrepreneurship and “Champion of Tomorrow” by CEO INDIA Magazine. He is a regular speaker at most major retail and e-commerce forums/events in India.
With his vast and deep experience; Hari will be invaluable as he advises and guides Palani LLC and the ErasaVir brand to best serve customers globally. His strategic and operational insights will be indispensable to Palani LLC and ErasaVir.
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Dr. RBN Prasad
Dr. RBN Prasad
Dr. RBN Prasad was the former Chief Scientist and Head of the Centre for Lipid Research at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad. Dr Prasad is a highly distinguished lipid scientist and made outstanding contributions in areas of lipid chemistry and technology for over 45 years. Dr Prasad’s research contributions were aimed at the modernization of vegetable oils, oleochemicals and allied products industry in India, leading to operational efficiency, cost reduction and environmental sustainability.
His contributions were also significant in the basic research related to polyunsaturated fatty acids, surfactants, biolubricants, enzymatic modifications of lipids etc. Dr Prasad has over 275 original research papers in reputed scientific journals, 22 book chapters and 71 Indian and international patents to his credit. In addition he has overseen the transfer of technologies to several industries. Dr Prasad was the recipient of 20 prestigious National awards like CSIR Technology Prize, Technology Development Board’s Best Indigenous Technology, Vasvik Award, Industrial Green Chemistry Award of Green Chemistry Network Centre of ACS etc. Dr Prasad was the National President of Oil Technologists’ Association of India and Association of Food Scientist & Technologists (India). Dr Prasad is also part of several expert committees of Govt. Funding Agencies and Food Regulatory Agencies.
Dr Prasad is providing guidance to the Erasavir Team for the activities related to product development and manufacturing as a scientific advisor.
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Dr. Suman Kapur
Dr. Suman Kapur
In Memoriam, Former Scientific Advisor
Dr. Kapur served as Senior Professor, in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani (Hyderabad Campus). Her research interests included ‘Genetic markers for vulnerability to chronic human diseases’, ‘Medical devices for field deployment in low resource settings’, and ‘Prevention of diseases through natural products’ among others. Dr. Kapur had a wealth of experience in the field, having authored over 200 published journal articles spanning across a wide range of subjects. She also served on the boards and governing bodies of multiple Indian and overseas educational and research institutions.
Having created proprietary formulations and devices serving a variety of objectives, Dr. Kapur brought her research and practical experience to the ErasaVir team, furthering our formulation, efficacy, and general research objectives.
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Lalit Ambastha
Lalit Ambastha
Lalit is an IP Attorney with more than 14 years of experience in the field of Intellectual Property. Post gaining learning experience during his association with leading IP Law firms, Lalit founded Patentwire, a Patent and Technology Consulting firm, in 2008. Lalit is empanelled as speaker and faculty with Ministry of MSME, Govt. of India, for IP Awareness Programmes organized by the Ministry. He is also empanelled as IP Consultant with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.
Lalit has dealt with patents across all major fields of invention for Indian and Overseas Clients including DMRC, Honda, IITs, Novartis, Viber, DBT, and ICAR. His experience is spread across sectors like General Utility, Chemical, Medical, Immunological, Biochemical, Herbal, Agriculture, Biotechnological, Pharmaceuticals, Mechanicals, IT, and Electronics. At ErasaVir, Lalit leads our IP objectives and advises us on all things legal.
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Anupam Dokeniya
Anupam Dokeniya
Anupam has accumulated entrepreneurial experience in a variety of sectors, but sees innovation in life sciences as his true passion. For over 15 years, he has been working in oncology with fatty acids-this formed the basis of ErasaVir’s ideation. Convinced that there are healthcare solutions which can give hope to humanity during this difficult time, Anupam begun the process of building a collective of scientists and entrepreneurs to sculpt this idea into reality.
Prior to ErasaVir, the devastation caused by cancer had moved Anupam on a deeper level. This led him to form Sefacor – to make a positive difference in the lives of patients (and their loved ones) suffering from deadly tumors, starting with high grade glioma, including GBM (Glioblastoma Multiforme). Before entering the healthcare domain Anupam spent time at Santander Investments, Strategic Capital Management, and The World Bank, in addition to founding NSA Investments and Indus Partners. Anupam’s audacious dream is to regularly serve a billion people by providing them an additional layer of safety with ErasaVir and its subsequent versions.
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CB Bhattacharya
Dr. CB Bhattacharya
CB Bhattacharya is the H.J. Zoffer Chair in Sustainability and Ethics at the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh. He is a world-renowned expert in business strategy innovation aimed at increasing both business and social value. His research and teaching focus specifically on how companies can use underleveraged “intangible assets” such as corporate identity, reputation, corporate social responsibility and sustainability to strengthen stakeholder relationships and drive firm market value.
Prof. Bhattacharya has published over 100 articles and has over 37,000 citations per Google Scholar, placing him among the top 50 cited marketing academics per Google Scholar and the top 1% of marketing academics per a Stanford University study. His latest book entitled Small Actions Big Difference: Leveraging Corporate Sustainability to Drive Business and Societal Value was published by Routledge in 2019. He is co-author of the book Leveraging Corporate Responsibility: The Stakeholder Route to Maximizing Business and Social Value and co-editor of the book Global Challenges in Responsible Business, both published by Cambridge University Press.
Prof. Bhattacharya is part of a select group of faculty members that have been named twice to Business Week’s Outstanding Faculty list. He is on the #thinklist of the University of Bath, a list of influential faculty thinkers on issues of responsible business He has won several best paper awards, teaching awards and research prizes. He was also a finalist for the Aspen Institute’s Faculty Pioneer Award in 2007. In addition, he received the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award in 1995, the highest teaching award at Emory University.
Prof. Bhattacharya has conducted research and consulted for many organizations such as Allianz, AT&T, Bosch, Eli Lilly, E.ON, General Mills, Green Mountain Coffee, High Museum of Art, Hitachi Corporation, Procter & Gamble Company, Prudential Bank, Timberland and Unilever.
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Rajiv Lochan
Rajiv Lochan
Rajiv grew up in the Himalayas. As an engineer, he worked in the United States for over a decade before moving back to India. He has been the primary coordinator of Framingham State University's January Term study abroad programme in India for the past 11 years, and for Colby College's Jan-Plan term in India for the past 6 years.
Committed to the cause of education and community-building, he has served on the Board of Directors of FreeSchools World Literacy (FSWL) -USA, a 501(c)3 organisation that supports informal schools in rural areas of India and Thailand to empower women and children with free education. He is working for Young Girls India, a 501(c)3 organisation that promotes the education of disadvantaged girls, as vice president.
Drawing on his multidisciplinary background in Economics and Engineering, Rajiv oversees initiatives for finding new markets, creating marketing strategies, and educating health care professionals about Erasavir. Having survived a long battle with covid, he is a firm believer of the science behind Erasavir