That's a wrap!

Vivek Mishra (36) is fascinated by silk. It is not the sleek cloth that captivates him, but the natural material that cocoons a silkworm during its metamorphosis from a gluttonous caterpillar to a winged moth. The silk fibre is non-allergenic, breathable and can regenerate tissues — properties that made Mishra wonder, a decade or so ago, if they could heal a wound.

An out-and-out marketing man with no science background, Mishra was involved with the hybrid rice seed business of Tata Chemicals when he got introduced to the world of biotechnology. He began reading research papers and discovered the phenomenal work that had been done on the properties of silk proteins.

"All that science was just waiting to be converted into a product and sold," says the Director and CEO of Fibroheal Woundcare Pvt Ltd, a biotech company.