Biocon - Kiran Mazumdar Shaw's Entrepreneurial Dream

Biocon emerged as the #1 biotech company in Asia and #16 in the world in terms of its fiscal 2003-04 revenues. For the fiscal year 2003-04, the company recorded net revenues of Rs 5018.824 mn, almost twice the previous year's figure, and a net profit of Rs 1246.726 mn. (Refer Exhibit III for the financial performance of the company). In the past 25 years, the company had evolved from a maker of enzymes to a major pharmaceutical enterprise, producing everything from insulin¹⁹ to antibodies²⁰ (Refer Exhibit IV for the Biocon's achievements). On March 11, 2004, the company launched its initial public offer (IPO) of 10 million equity shares of Rs 5 face value at a price band of Rs 270-315. With this, Biocon became the first biotech company in India to go public.

Without resting on her past laurels, Kiran has moved onto even more challenging ventures of developing insulin and drugs that can cure cancer. With 120 mn diabetic patients worldwide and 30 mn in India, diabetes had emerged as an important area for disease research. Biocon, through its subsidiary - Clinigene, embarked on a longitudinal research program in Type II diabetes.²⁴ In the later half of 2004, Biocon launched recombinant human insulin under the brand name 'Insugen.' The product pitted Biocon against leading multinationals like Eli Lilly²⁵ who had already lowered prices...