Biocon Ltd Unveils India's First 24-Hour 

Diabetes Drug

Leading biotechnology firm Biocon Ltd launched a new kind of diabeticdrug that will help the patients to control their
blood sugar levels all day long. While speaking about the new drug called Basalog, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-
Shaw said that it is the first diabetic drug that works for 24 hours. The company stated that Basalog will be available
in Indian market in 10ml and 3ml vials.
 
According to Kiran, over the years diabetes has emerged as the most menacing disease for a large chunk of world
population. She added the disease has a very strong foothold in India. With the introduction of Basalog, the
biotechnology company has taken an initiative to provide best of diabetes management and care in India, said Kiran.
 
Informing about the new diabetic drug, Biocon chief said that Basalog has 24-hour long peek less action, which is first
of its kind in the country. Unlike other insulin, Basalog has the flexibility of injection timing and it ensures
effective HbA1c control, added Kiran. The cases of diabetes are highest in India. As per an estimate, the country has
the world's largest diabetic population, around 40 million. 

The new diabetic drug from Biocon Ltd also comes with affordable prices for Indian patients. The price of 10ml vial is
Rs.2,500. Over the years, the biotechnology firm has come up with many important bio-therapeutics for diabetes and
other life threatening diseases.

NEWS:

Biocon net increases by 24% to Rs 101 cr...

January 21, 2011

Publication : Times of India
Biotech major Biocon recorded a strong performance in the quarter ended December 2010, posting a 24% jump in
net profit to Rs 101 crore compared to the corresponding period last year. The company's revenue rose 15% to Rs
738 crore, led by robust growth in biopharmaceuticals, branded formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients
(APIs). 

"This is the first quarter where we have crossed a net profit of Rs 100 crore at the group level," said Kiran Mazumdar-
Shaw, CMD of Biocon. The operating margin has increased to 24% in the quarter. 

Revenues from biopharmaceuticals rose to Rs 649 crore, a 15% jump compared to the same period last year.
Licensing income increased to Rs 77 crore, from Rs 18 crore. Pharma major Pfizer has contributed significantly to
the licensing income. Biocon signed a marketing deal last year with Pfizer to globally commercialize four of its insulin
biosimilar products. Commercial revenues from this deal will reflect in the balance sheet from next fiscal. 

Income from contract research grew 14% to touch Rs 79 crore. Biocon's wholly-owned subsidiary Syngene has seen
a turnaround in the quarter by contributing Rs 10 crore to the bottomline. This is being attributed to the company's
shift from a component-based approach to an integrated service model.

Clinical trials are not a slam-dunk

Bangalore: Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw spoke to TOI immediately after announcing the company's financial
results: 

What is Biocon's focus for 2011-12? 

We have a number of clinical programmes in the biosimilar space. We have two novel programs - IN-105 (oral
insulin) and T1h (anti-CD6 monoclonal antibody). We also have a novel human monoclonal antibody called BVX-20
going into clinical trials. At the JP Morgan healthcare conference in San Francisco recently, US pharma company
Amylin announced that they hope to take our hybrid peptide programme to clinical trials by the end of the year.
Overall, we will be investing close to Rs 70-100 crore on clinical development plans in the next 12-18 months. 

Axicorp did not do well last quarter. Is that a concern? 

Axicorp is not a concern largely because it was acquired for a very specific purpose - to roll out insulins. It so h ap p e
n e d that it had certain businesses that were interesting to keep doing till insulins were rolled out. Those businesses
were impacted when the German government forced a 16% rebate on all pharma companies. We are telling Axicorp
to get rid of products operating on wafer thin margins. 

The oral insulin candidate IN-105 didn't meet its primary goal. What went wrong? 
Clinical trials are not a slamdunk. You are lucky if you get outstanding data at the first shot. We had a higher-
thanexpected placebo effect that masked the primary endpoint. It is well known that early diabetics, especially type II
diabetics, have a tendency to modify lifestyles. And if you suddenly exercise or cut down on your carbs, it will impact
on certain parameters. We assumed, wrongly, that patients on the placebo arm might not change their lifestyles. This
had a severe impact on the primary end point. But we have enough data to show the drug is working. It has shown
good safety data and it's also weight neutral. So all this data will be put to better use when we design further studies. 

What next with IN-105? 

This is a game changer in daibetes therapy and I think a global aprtner can do justice to it. Based on our results, we
plan to enter into a global partnership in six months for further research and trials. 

How important is emerging markets for Biocon? 

Mature markets are not attractive any more. Emerging markets are the fastest growth markets with low entry barriers.
They are also good in terms of pricing. We are betting big on Latin America, Asia, Africa and Middle East.

About Us boicon

"Our ability to continuously scale new heights across the biopharmaceutical value chain enables
us to realise the promise of future therapeutics." -Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman & Managing Director 

Biocon is a fully integrated healthcare company that delivers innovative biopharmaceutical solutions. From
discovery to development and commercialisation, we have the defining science, cost-effective drug
development capabilities and significant manufacturing capacity to move ideas to market.

Leveraging India’s globally competitive cost base and exceptional scientific people resource, we are
advancing our in-house R&D programs, while also providing custom and clinical research services to
international pharmaceutical and biotechnology majors through our subsidiary companies, Syngene and
Clinigene.

Biocon has rapidly developed a robust drug pipeline, led by monoclonal antibodies and several other
molecules at exciting stages in the biopharmaceutical value chain. With the successful commercial launch of
our first anti-cancer drug and several promising discovery partnerships in the clinic, we remain committed to
scaling new heights in frontier science and achieving new milestones in affordable medicine.

The Innovation Matrix: A Strategic Framework

 Click here to enlarge

To navigate the challenges of innovation in the next decade we have adopted a well-defined strategic
framework that will transform scientific discoveries into advances in human healthcare and generate
incremental value for our shareholders.

Our Innovation Matrix is a four-dimensional endeavour which extends into the realms of the known and the
unknown. Creativity in the known realm builds on existing knowledge and can result in two types of
innovation: INCREMENTAL and EVOLUTIONARY. Creativity that challenges unknown boundaries and creates
new knowledge is EXPERIMENTAL and TRANSFORMATIONAL in its impact. A portfolio that covers all four
spheres enables Biocon to sustain innovation in the short, medium and long term.

Our biosimilar insulin, an outcome of incremental innovation, is one of the world’s most affordable therapies
for insulin dependent diabetes. Bio-generic monoclonal antibodies are forming the core of our evolutionary
innovation strategy. In the more challenging area of experimental innovation, Biocon is at the cutting edge.
We are developing conjugated antibodies with a US Biotech start-up, IATRICa, to potentially deliver
therapeutic cancer vaccines. We are also pursuing a path of breakthrough innovation through phase III
human clinical trials to develop the world’s first Oral Insulin. Biocon is thus rapidly moving towards
commercializing novel biologics with a "Made in India" label.