The people behind Cybele

P.N. Balaram is a business professional with a degree in management and 30 years of experience across multiple industries. He began his entrepreneurial journey at just 20 years old by manufacturing televisions in partnership with Toshiba, Japan.

Over the years, he has brought several new products and technologies to the Indian market. His notable achievements include:

• 1984: introduced the first core and onscreen display televisions.
• 1986: launched VCRs and DTH satellite receiving systems.
• 1989: introduced PET bottles to the market.
• 1992: founded Superstar Distilleries and Foods Ltd, becoming the first to manufacture liquors from tapioca in India.
• 1996: launched premium electronic security systems in India. He was also a key promoter of Sterling Gases.
• 1997: promoted Cybele Herbal Laboratories Pvt Ltd.

K. Sadasivan Pillai has over 25 years of industrial experience managing safety studies and animal experiments for drugs, pesticides, and herbal products. He has served as the Head of Quality Assurance (QA) for preclinical research organisations and pharmaceutical R&D centres in India.

His academic and professional highlights include:

• Research leadership: serves as a Ph.D. supervisor for two Indian universities.
• Advanced training: completed specialised training in Laboratory Animal Science at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
• Published work: authored multiple research papers in peer-reviewed medical journals and co-authored two books on statistics in toxicology and pharmacology.

Dr. Ramadasan Kuttan is a medical researcher who served as the Director of the Amala Research Centre in Thrissur, Kerala. He has published more than 80 international papers.

Before his work in Kerala, he conducted cancer research at the M.D. Anderson Hospital in New York, where he isolated curcumin from turmeric and published a notable 1985 paper on its anti-cancer properties. This work helped spark global research into curcumin, including studies by the National Cancer Institute in the United States.

He also set up the framework for the first human testing of the herbal formulation. During this six-month study, he closely monitored a group of diabetic patients, tracking their progress to help confirm the safety and effectiveness of the treatment.

Navaneeth Vishnu completed his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at Loyola College in Chennai.

He later earned his Masters in Management (Grande École degree) from the IESEG School of Management in France, specialising in International Business Economics and Strategy (IBES).