Tzar Labs co-founders Ashish and Anish Tripathi have devised an early cancer-detection test in memory of their brother-in-law who committed suicide while ailing from the disease
I’m looking after the India rollout; Ashish is looking after the international business and fundraising. But there are no silos: Anish Tripathi, co-founder and coo, Tzar labs
Image: Neha Mithbawkar for Forbes India
It was back in 2019 that his much-celebrated brother-in-law Himanshu Roy, the high-profile officer of the Indian Police Service, committed suicide after a long battle with cancer. Roy, the former head of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad and a former joint commissioner of police in Mumbai, had handled numerous cases, including the Indian Premier League betting scam and the murder of Mumbai journalist J Dey.
At the time of his death, he had left a note saying he was taking the step out of extreme depression due to an incurable cancer.
“He was one of the most inspirational people I have met in my life,” says Ashish Tripathi. “One of the most poignant things that he had actually said to me was that this disease (cancer) is becoming a disease of the rich. What are the poor supposed to do? If you just look at the cost of the medication, it’s just too high.”
That’s precisely why this year has been rather bittersweet for the Tripathi family. Tzar Labs, promoted by the Tripathi family, which includes brothers Ashish and Anish along with their father VK Tripathi, claims to have come up with a simple blood test that can indicate with a very high degree of probability when cancer is imminent in a person. For now, the test needs to be taken annually, and based on a score measured in HrC, named after his brother Himanshu Roy, the number will suggest how vulnerable a person is to cancer, and the type of cancer and the organ it will most likely affect.
(This story appears in the 24 September, 2021 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)