Biocon Limited: Success Story of one of the Top Biotech Companies in India

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The healthcare marketplace is drastically evolving with many therapeutic solutions. Biopharmaceutical is one such discovery in the healthcare sector that is treated as one of the most significant achievements in modern science and technology. The biopharmaceutical industry is different from pharmaceutical startups in terms of the manufacturing process.

Biopharmaceutical products or medicines are manufactured in or, extracted from living organisms or biological sources, unlike pharmaceuticals, which are manufactured using chemical substances.

Known as an international pioneer, Biocon Limited, is an Indian biopharmaceutical firm founded by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in 1978. The company is based in Bangalore, India, and produces generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that are distributed in over 120 countries worldwide.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Success Story | Biography | Education

Kiran Mazumdar is the founder of Biocon Limited. Know about Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw’s education, biography, her success story, and achievements.

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Biocon Limited - Company Highlights

Biocon Limited - About and how does it work?

Founded in 1973, Biocon Limited produces both new biologics and biosimilar insulins and antibodies, and generic APIs across the globe covering more than 120 countries, the major being the USA and Europe markets. The company consists of a talented and dedicated workforce of 13,500 employees.

For 40 years, Biocon has been consistently creating a culture of continuous innovation with four global businesses such as - generics, biosimilars, research services, and novel biologics. Its research and development are focused on prevention, relief, treatment, and medicines to enhance the lives of millions of patients. They believe in offering affordable quality medicines for many people. It strives to give reasonable access to a specialty portfolio of medications to everyone, everywhere.

As a global brand, Biocon is leveraging economies of scale by consistently investing in the development of new treatments for diabetes, cancer, and immunology. Biocon's subsidiaries are -

Biocon Biologics and Syngene International Limited (Syngene).

Biocon Limited - Industry details

The Covid-19 impact has led to the growth of the Biopharmaceuticals industry in recent times. As per records, the global biopharma industry market growth is expected to reach $26.49 billion in 2028. This growth will see a CAGR of 12.6% during the period from 2021 to 2028.

Biocon Limited - Founder and Team

Biocon Limited is founded by Indian billionaire entrepreneur, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in 1978.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Awarded the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 and the first woman to head the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is an inspiration for many women. She was born to Gujarati parents on March 23, 1953, in Bangalore, Karnataka. Rasendra Mazumdar, her father, was the head brewmaster of United Breweries.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw attended Mount Carmel Institution in Bangalore, a women's college affiliated with Bangalore University, where she studied biology and zoology, earning a bachelor's degree in 1973. Listening to her father's advice, Kiran went to Ballarat College, Melbourne University in Australia to study malting and brewing attaining a master's degree in brewing in 1975.

Before Biocon, Kiran was a trainee brewer at Carlton and United Breweries in Melbourne, as well as a trainee maltster at Barrett Brothers and Burston. Between 1975 and 1977, she also served as a technical consultant at Jupiter Breweries Limited in Calcutta and as a technical manager at Standard Maltings Corporation in Baroda.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has done many philanthropic activities such as the Biocon Foundation. Through this foundation, she has supported Arogya Raksha Yojana (Disease Protection Program/Health Help) and numerous other health and education programs. She has also supported the Bangalore Agenda Task Force, to improve the city's infrastructure and standard of living.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the Chairperson of Biocon Limited. In her lifetime, she is the recipient of many prestigious awards. Just to name a few, she was conferred the prestigious Quality Ratna Award for the year 2020 by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), Scotland’s National Academy,  she received the Othmer Gold Medal in 2014 for exceptional contributions to the progress of science and chemistry. Kiran also received the Padma Shri in 1989 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005 from the government of India. Not to forget, she was ranked #68 on the Forbes list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2020.

Kiran is married to John Shaw. He is a Scotsman and Indophile who was Chairman and Managing Director of a renowned textiles MNC Madura Coats before joining Biocon in 1999 and serving as Vice-Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Biocon for almost 22 years before retiring recently in July 2021.

Dr. Arun Chandavarkar

Dr. Arun Chandavarkar is the Managing Director of Biocon Biologics Limited. He formerly served as the CEO and Joint Managing Director of Biocon Ltd. from April 2014 until November 2019, when he left after nearly three decades with the company. Before becoming CEO, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Biocon.

Dr. Chandavarkar earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai and a doctorate in biochemical engineering from MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Under his management, the company has made significant investments in cutting-edge R&D and efficient, compliant operations, resulting in a distinct and differentiated product portfolio that includes fermentation-derived complex generics, biosimilars, and novel biologics aimed at a global patient population. For the 2016-17 fiscal year, Dr. Chandavarkar chaired the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) National Committee on Biotechnology.

Siddharth Mittal

Siddharth Mittal is the CEO and Managing Director of Biocon Ltd. He has more than 20 years of comprehensive international expertise in strategic finance and accounting, mergers and acquisitions, taxation, and general management.

Siddharth Mittal was formerly Vice-President, Finance, and Corporate Controller at Symphony Teleca, a renowned US-based international IT business. He began his career in Bengaluru with the audit division of S.R. Batliboi & Co. (the Indian branch of Ernst & Young). He then worked for the US division of Xchanging Plc, an FTSE-listed firm located in London that specializes in business processing, technology, and procurement services.

Siddharth graduated from the Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce in Pune with a Bachelor of Commerce. He is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and a Colorado Certified Public Accountant. Presently, he is also Co-Chairman of the CII Southern Regional Task Force on Pharmaceuticals and Co-Chairman of the CII Southern Regional Healthcare & Life Sciences 2020 - 21.

Biocon Limited - Startup Story

The story of Biocon started in 1978. It began as a joint venture with an Irish biotech business to develop and export enzymes for the brewing industry internationally. The company then gradually created a solid-state fermentation technique to manufacture innovative bio-enzymes for worldwide clients in the food and pharmaceutical sectors.

Unilever Plc purchased its Irish partners in 1989 and produced Biocon India as a member of the Unilever system, which allowed the company to quickly professionalize by adopting worldwide best practices.

In the 1990s, Syngene was established as a 'pure play' research services firm catering to the worldwide pharmaceutical industry's R&D needs. Biocon moved beyond insulins to create monoclonal antibodies.

During its journey, Biocon found that most of the developing world couldn't afford all the advanced therapeutic solutions. To support its purpose, Biocon raised capital through an IPO in 2004 and sold its enzymes business in 2007. Through constant research and developments, Biocon acquired a worldwide reputation as a genuine biosimilars player through a series of groundbreaking milestones, beginning with the approval of the world's first bTrastuzumab in India in 2014 and the Japanese approval of bGlargine in 2016. It was the first in the world to receive approval in the United States for bTrastuzumab in 2017 and bPegfilgrastim in 2018.

Biocon's investments on a global scale helped the company rank among the world's top 15 biomanufacturing companies.

Currently, Biocon has emerged as one of the leading global biopharmaceutical companies with consolidated revenues of $1.1 billion (Rs 8,396.70 crores) and a more than 15,000 strong workforce.

Biocon Limited - Mission and Vision

Biocon's vision statement reads, "To enhance global healthcare through innovative and affordable biopharmaceuticals for patients, partners, and healthcare systems across the globe."

The company aims to deliver high-quality and reasonable healthcare products by prioritizing patients, focusing on science, and sustainable growth.

The mission of Biocon is, "To be an integrated biotechnology enterprise of global distinction"

Biocon Limited - Name, Tagline, Logo

The logo of Biocon can be seen to have a similar appearance to human DNA.

The overall tagline of Biocon as a company is, "Hope. saves lives."

Biocon also has taglines for each of its subordinates:

Biocon Biologics' tagline says, "Transforming Healthcare. Transforming Lives."

Biocon Foundation's tagline says, "Empowering Communities"

Biocon Academy's tagline is, "Adding Value, Enhancing Skills"

Biocon Limited - Business & Revenue Model

The business model of Biocon can be said to have five global business verticals - Generics, Biosimilars, Research Services, and New biologics,  Research and development, and manufacturing of revolutionary biopharmaceutical medications. This developing paradigm is nicely linked with its business objective of offering inexpensive innovation. The company's integrated business strategy encompasses the whole therapeutic value chain, from pre-clinical discovery to clinical development and beyond.

Biocon has three main business divisions that are its strength and backbone. This consists of - Syngene, Clingene, and Biocon, which are engaged in preclinical, clinical, and commercialization activities, respectively. Its business operations also involve the manufacturing of therapeutic areas such as Oncology, Diabetes, and Immunology.

Some of the products manufactured by Biocon are:

APIs - Atorvastatin, Fingolimod, Dapagliflozin, Pemetrexed, Tacrolimus, Apixaban (cardiology), Liraglutide (anti-diabetes), Semaglutide (anti-diabetes), Dasatinib (anti-cancer)

Biosimilars -INSUGEN, BASALOG ONE

Novel Biologics - ALZUMAb (for Psoriasis), BIOMAb-EGFR (for Head & Neck Cancer).

Biocon's business also includes developing enormous brand equity with physicians and patients by expanding its footprint into specialist sectors through which it earns its revenue. It has also produced medicines for Covid-19 such as - Alzumab-L, Dynalix, RemWin, etc.

Biocon's CSR Activities

The company has no space when it comes to serving society. With its motto, "Driving Sustainable Social Change", the company aims to be devoted to bettering lives and strengthening marginalized communities for a brighter future. The CSR initiatives of Biocon can be divided into two categories:

Biocon Foundation - Through this, Biocon has emphasized many healthcare solutions, providing for the environment and people through programs that promote social and economic inclusion. The company has set up eLAJ Smart Clinic platforms, an Oral Cancer Screening program, did a Community Vaccination Drive, supplied oxygen concentrators, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) monitors, digital X-Ray machines, ultrasound machines, pulse oximeters, and other medical equipment to support the COVID care infrastructure at the Anekal General Hospital and a lot more other social initiatives.

Biocon Academy - In conjunction with JSS University, Mysuru, Biocon Academy, helps to establish an ecosystem for biotech-related skills in India. The programs offered by the academy aim to provide advanced learning and industrial competence to life science graduates and post-graduates through job-skills development, which is required to create a rewarding career in the Biotech sector.

It recently launched a new course in Global Regulatory Affairs. The Academy was established 8 years ago. Till now, more than 850 students have enrolled in the academy.

Biocon is involved in offering many sustainable activities to provide a rewarding workplace through the EHS management system and to improve ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance).

Biocon Limited - Revenue & Growth

As per reports, Biocon's consolidated revenues increased 14% year on year to Rs 83,967 million, led by Biosimilars and Research Services revenue increases of 24% and 19%, respectively. Furthermore, for the fiscal year, Biosimilars earned Rs 34,643 million, Generics earned Rs 23,409 million, and Research Services earned Rs 26,042 million.

The company also claimed that its EBITDA climbed 14% year on year to Rs 21,829 million, with a respectable margin of 26%. Core EBITDA for the year increased 18% to '26,690 million, representing a margin of 32% after adjusting for licensing, forex, gain on dilution in Bicara, mark-to-market loss on investments, and R&D expense. Biocon's net profit was $6,484 million. Certain extraordinary events, mark-to-market losses on investments, and a gain on dilution in Bicara all influenced net profit. After adjusting for these things, Biocon managed to increase its Net Profit by 23% for the whole year.

Biocon has announced that in FY22, Biocon Biologics increased its sales by 24% over the previous year, to Rs 34,643 million, with interchangeable bGlargine achieving double-digit market share in the United States, as well as ongoing improvement in the market share of other major existing products.

Biocon also saw some growth in its business segments. Syngene increased its bio-manufacturing capacity by commissioning a cutting-edge microbial facility and expanding its mammalian plant. Besides this, Biocon Biologics successfully progressed two unpartnered antibody projects to the clinical stage, bUstekinumab and bDenosumab.

Biocon Limited - Funding and Investors

Biocon Biologics has raised $24.4 billion in funding over four rounds. Their most recent fundraising came on January 7, 2021, in the form of a Venture Series Unknown round. Biocon Biologics is supported by four investors. The most recent investors are ADQ and Goldman Sachs.

Biocon Limited - Mergers and Acquisitions

On February 28, 2021, Biocon Biologics bought Viatris Biosimilars. They paid $3.3 billion for Viatris Biosimilars. Viatris Biosimilars is a USA-based company that has primary areas of focus on Oncology, immunology, endocrinology, ophthalmology, and dermatology.

On September 16, 2021, Biocon Biologics Limited ("BBL") entered into a merger cooperation agreement with Serum Institute Life Sciences Private Limited ("SILS") and Covidshield Technologies Private Limited ("CTPL" or Transferor business), a fully owned subsidiary of SILS.

Biocon Limited - Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

In 2020, Biocon Biologics released a series of videos with the #StoriesofHope. The campaign was launched on Women's Day to share the stories of two women who have survived deadly diseases like cancer and breast cancer.

Biocon Limited - Awards and Achievements

Here's is the list of Biocon's awards and recognitions in the last few years:

2022

Biocon Group Communication Team moved up to no.6 among 30 Top Corporate Communication Team Nationally

Biocon Biologics was conferred with the prestigious Legal Era Award, “Pharmaceutical In-House Legal Team of the Year” for 2021-22

Biocon Biologics was conferred with the coveted ‘20th Annual Greentech Safety India Award 2021’ during the Safety India Summit.

2021

Biocon won the ‘UN Women India WEPs Awards - 2021’in the “Transparency and Reporting”

Biocon made it to the Top 15 Indian Companies in the Emerging Market Index of Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI)

Biocon Biologics received the ‘Unnatha Suraksha Puraskara’ on September 9, 2021, by the National Safety Council (NSC), Karnataka Chapter.

2020

Biocon was recognized at the ‘UN Women 2020 India WEPs Awards' for promoting a Gender-Inclusive Workplace and Gender-Responsive Marketplace amidst COVID-19.

Biocon Limited was ranked among the Top 5 Global Biotech Employers for 2020

Biocon bagged the ‘Best Biotech Patents Award 2018-19’ by Indian Drug Manufacturing Association (IDMA)

2019

Biocon won 2 awards at the TISS-Leapvault CLO Summit: ‘Learning and Development Team of the Year’ and ‘Best Diversity & Inclusion Program’.

Biocon moved up to Rank No. 6 on Science Careers’ Top 20 Global Pharma and Biotech Employers List 2019.

Biocon showcased a strong presence at Bengaluru Tech Summit 2019 for which it won the ‘Best Exhibitor Award’.

2018

Biocon Foundation, the CSR arm of Biocon Ltd. and Syngene International Ltd., was felicitated with SABERA Awards in New Delhi.

Biocon was honored at Pharmexcil Outstanding Exports Award 2017-18 for outstanding contribution to India’s Pharmaceutical Exports during the year 2017-18.

Biocon was honored with the prestigious IDMA Corporate Citizen Award in 2017.

Biocon Limited - Competitors

The top competitors of Biocon are:

1. Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd
2. Windlas Biotech Ltd.
3. Piramal Phytocare Ltd
4. Dr. Reddy's Labs
5. Sun Pharma
6. Divi's Labs
7. Cipla
8. Apollo Hospitals
9. Torrent Pharma
10. Gland Pharma

List of Top 20 Pharmaceutical Companies in India 2022

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Biocon Limited - Future plans

Right now, Biocon's main focus is to expand its diverse product portfolio to become a trustworthy global brand. The company plans are gaining global leadership by utilizing its size and cost advantages. it is further building a company with flawless quality compliance, world-class ethics, and a strong corporate governance framework. Through digital and data analytics, it plans to get closer to patients and reach a broader patient base. It believes that its three business categories, Generics, Biosimilars, and Research Services, are all well positioned for future expansion.

FAQs

Who is the CEO of Biocon?

Siddharth Mittal is the CEO of Biocon Limited.

Who is the founder of Biocon?

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the founder and executive chairman of Biocon.

When did Biocon go Public?

Biocon went public on March 2004.

Is Biocon an MNC?

Yes,Biocon is an MNC.