Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Born: March 23, 1953) is an Indian businesswoman and founder of Biocon, the biotechnology company based

in Bangalore (Bangaluru), India. She is the Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon Limited, and Chairperson of Syngene International Limited and Clinigene International Limited. She started Biocon in 1978 and spearheaded its evolution from an industrial enzymes manufacturing company to a fully integrated bio-pharmaceutical company with a wellbalanced business portfolio of products and a research focus on diabetes, oncology and autoimmune diseases. She also established two subsidiaries: Syngene (1994) to provide development support services for discovery research and Clinigene (2000) to cater to clinical development services.[ref 1][ref 2] Her pioneering work in the sector has earned her several awards, including the prestigious Padma Shri (1989) and the Padma Bhushan (2005) from the government of India.She was recently named among TIME magazines 100 most influential people in the world. She is also on the Forbes list of the worlds 100 most powerful women, and the Financial Times top 50 women in business list.[ref 2]

[edit] Early life

Born in Bangalore, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw completed her schooling from the citys Bishop Cotton Girls High School (1968). She wanted to join medical school but instead took up biology and completed her BSc Zoology Honors course from Bangalore University (1973). She later did her post-graduation in Malting and Brewing from Ballarat College, Melbourne University (1975).[ref 2] She worked as a Trainee Brewer in Carlton and United Breweries, Melbourne and as a Trainee Malster at Barrett Brothers and Burston, Australia. She also worked for some time as a Technical Consultant at Jupiter Breweries Limited, Calcutta and as a Technical Manager at Standard Maltings Corporation, Baroda between 1975 and 1977.[ref 2]

[edit] Biocon
In 1978, she joined Biocon Biochemicals Limited, of Cork, Ireland as a Trainee Manager. In the same year she started Biocon in the garage of her rented house in Bangalore with a seed capital of Rs. 10,000. Initially, she faced credibility challenges because of her youth, gender and her untested business model. Not only was funding a problem as no bank wanted to lend to her, but she also found it difficult to recruit people for her start-up. With single-minded determination she overcame these challenges only to be confronted with the technological challenges associated with trying to build a biotech business in a country facing infrastructural woes. Uninterrupted power, superior quality water, sterile labs, imported research equipment, and advanced

scientific skills were not easily available in India during the time. Never one to give up easily, she took the challenges in her stride and worked within the limiting circumstances to take Biocon to newer and greater heights.[ref 2] She is quoted as saying, Success is about pursuing a vision with a sense of purpose and a spirit of challenge. There are no short cuts to success and there is no substitute for hard work. I also believe success is about doing things in a differentiated way - dare to be different so that you stand out. Biocon's byline is The difference lies in our DNA and we all believe in it. We don't imitate other companies but have charted our own business destiny. [ref 2] She is responsible for steering Biocon on a trajectory of growth and innovation over the years. Within a year of its inception, Biocon became the first Indian company to manufacture and export enzymes to USA and Europe. In 1989, Biocon became the first Indian biotech company to receive US funding for proprietary technologies. In 1990, she upgraded Biocons in-house research program, based on a proprietary solid substrate fermentation technology. The commercial success of this program led to a three-fold expansion by 1996 and Biocon entered the biopharmaceuticals and statins segments. In 1997, she undertook initiatives in human healthcare through a dedicated manufacturing facility.[ref 2] In 1998, when Unilever agreed to sell its shareholding in Biocon to the Indian promoters, Biocon became an independent entity. Two years later, Biocon's proprietary bioreactor, christened PlafractorTM, based on solid matrix fermentation received a U.S. patent and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw commissioned Biocons first fully automated submerged fermentation plant to produce specialty pharmaceuticals. By 2003 Biocon became the first company worldwide to develop human insulin on a Pichia expression system.[ref 2] In the same year, she incorporated Biocon Biopharmaceuticals Private Limited to manufacture and market a select range of biotherapeutics in a joint venture with the Cuban Centre of Molecular Immunology. In 2004, she decided to access the capital markets to develop Biocons pipeline of research programs. Biocons IPO was oversubscribed 32 times and its first day at the bourses closed with a market value of $1.11 billion, making Biocon only the second Indian company to cross the $1-billion mark on the first day of listing.[ref 2] She entered into more than 2,200 high-value R&D licensing and other deals within the pharmaceuticals and bio-pharmaceutical space between 2005 and 2010 and helped Biocon expand its global footprint to emerging and developed markets through acquisitions, partnerships and in-licensing. Her belief that healthcare needs can only be met with affordable innovation has been the driving philosophy that has helped Biocon manufacture and market drugs cost-effectively. In 2007-08, a leading US trade publication, Med Ad News, ranked Biocon as the 20th leading biotechnology companies in the world and the 7th largest biotech employer in the world. Biocon also received the 2009 BioSingapore Asia Pacific Biotechnology Award for Best Listed Company.[ref 2] Today, thanks to her leadership, Biocon is building cutting-edge capabilities, global credibility and global scale in its manufacturing and marketing acticities. It has Asias largest insulin and statin facilities as also the largest perfusion-based antibody production facilities.

[edit] Philanthropic Activities

In 2004, she started the Biocon Foundation to conduct health, education, sanitation, and environment programs for the benefit of the economically weaker sections of society. The Foundations micro-health insurance program has an enrolment of 70,000 rural members.[ref 2]

Its 7 ARY clinics are located where healthcare facilities are poor and offer clinical care, generic medicines and basic tests for those who cannot afford them. Each of the clinics serves a population of 50,000 people living within a radius of 10 km.[ref 2] All the clinics organize regular general health checks in remote villages by bringing in physicians and doctors from network hospitals. Each year, the Foundation touches more than 300,000 lives through its holistic healthcare approach. The Foundation also provides mobile medical services, and conducts preventive health education programmes and free health-care camps. She helped establish a 1,400-bed cancer care center at the Narayana Health City campus at Boommasandra, Bangalore, along with Dr. Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya in 2007. Called the Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre (MSCC), it is one of the largest cancer hospitals of its kind, spread as it is over an area of five lakh square feet. It specializes in head and neck cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer.

[edit] Awards
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Nikkei Asia Prize (2009) for Regional Growth, Express Pharmaceutical Leadership Summit Award (2009) for Dynamic Entrepreneur, the Economic Times Businesswoman of the Year (2004), the Veuve Clicquot Initiative For Economic Development For Asia, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences & Healthcare (2002), Technology Pioneer recognition by World Economic Forum and The Indian Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award.[ref 2] She has also received the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award (2002), the Business Woman of the Year Award from the Indian Business Leadership Award committee, CNBC-TV18 (2006), the Indian Merchants' Chamber Diamond Jubilee Endowment Trust'sEminent Businessperson of the Year Award(2006) and the Corporate Leadership Award by the American India Foundation (2005).[ref 2] She also received an honorary Doctorate of Science in 2004, from her alma mater, Ballarat University, in recognition of her contributions to biotechnology, apart from being awarded honorary doctorates from University of Abertay, Dundee, UK (2007), University of Glasgow, UK (2008) and Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK (2008).