MarketSeveral years ago The Economist had predictedthat the 21st century would belong todevelopments in biology.That prophecy isalready coming to pass in the first decade itself.From diagnosis to treatment, biotechnology isdelivering on its promise of revolutionisingresearch and development and creatinginnovative medicines.

Worldwide the biotechnology industry isexpected to grow at a compounded annual rate of between 6% and 9% through 2010,determined by two realities: the ageingpopulation of the world and the rising demandfor a better quality of life. It is expected that theemerging markets of Asia, Eastern Europe andLatin America would be the main demandcreators (Source: industry data).

India is already a major biotech player in theworld. According to industry projections thebusiness has a potential of generating revenuesin excess of US$ 5 billion (Rs. 20,000 crore) andcreating one million skilled jobs by 2010.

In India, Biocon has been the driver of growthin the biotechnology sector. As a research-driven, global health care company with a strong matrix of capabilities along thebiopharmaceutical value chain, Biocon offersnovel therapies, which stem from its focuseddrive towards affordable innovation.

The company has a globalfootprint that spans 75 countries,with the US and the Europeanmarkets accounting for more than35% of its worldwide sales.

For a country with a number ofsunrise industries, biotechnology is,perhaps, India’s most importantdevelopment as it alone envelopesthe hope of bringing affordablerelief to a world plagued with disease.

AchievementsWith just three scientists at itscore, Biocon began commercialoperations in 1978 manufacturing

industrial enzymes. 30 eventful years later thecompany is a globally recognised, integratedbiopharmaceutical company with a work forceof 3900 including 900 scientists.The visionarywho made this transition possible was Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, declared in a recentinternational poll, to be one of the mostinfluential professionals in biotechnology in the world. It is under her leadership that Biocon has emerged as the face of evolvingIndia and has, not surprisingly, distinguished itself in several spheres.

It was the first company to export microbialenzymes to the US and Europe.

Syngene International, a Biocon Groupcompany, is India’s first custom researchcompany in drug discovery.

Biocon’s proprietary bioreactor the PlaFractorreceived a US patent in the 1990s.

Clinigene, another Biocon subsidiary, has thedistinction of becoming the first Indianlaboratory to receive accreditation from theCollege of American Pathologists.This has set anew benchmark for laboratories in India.

In its drive to scale up to global demand andgain international recognition, Biocon has alreadyemerged as the largest insulin, statin andperfusion-based antibody production facility in Asia.

In 2004, the company moved up the value

chain by launching INSUGEN, a recombinanthuman insulin manufactured using a uniquePichia Expression system.

Biocon set up an Oncotherapeutics division in2006 and launched BIOMAb EGFR™ – arevolutionary monoclonal antibody to combatcancers of the head and neck. With this launchBiocon became the first Indian company to

develop andmanufacturemonoclonalantibodies inaccordance withstringentinternationalguidelines.Thedrug receivedthe Product of the YearAward in 2007 fromBiospectrum,

a leading trade periodical.This impassioned and unrelenting drive to

achieve and succeed has seen Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw receive two of India’s highest civilianhonours – the Padma Shree in 1989 and thePadma Bhushan in 2005.

HistoryIf Biocon is credited with starting the bio-technology revolution in India then it is a matterof record that this revolution started with amodest capital of US$ 1000 (then Rs. 10,000)on 29th November 1978 in a garage inBangalore.The company was incorporated as a joint venture between a young womanentrepreneur, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and BioconBiochemicals, a small Irish company. Bioconscripted a winning strategy by opting forspecialty, low volume, high value enzymes forthe food and beverage industry.This was aradical departure from the prevailing practice of supplying chemical process aids.

By the 1990s Bangalore was becoming theknowledge capital of India. Seizing this emergingopportunity Biocon set up Syngene in 1994. Itwas India’s first contract research servicescompany in early stage drug discovery. It thenleveraged its fermentation-based enzymecapabilities and entered the biopharmaceuticalspace in 1998. It was here that Biocon launched

two important R&D programmesfor fermentation-basedcholesterol-reducing statins and r-human insulin.

In 2000 Biocon promoted aClinical Research Organisation(CRO), Clinigene, to plug a largeregulatory gap in clinicaldevelopment.The CRO createdin-house capabilities for clinicaldevelopment and also providedclinical services to third parties, thus making it into a profit centre.

As technology progressed and antibodies came to berecognised as a new class of

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immunotherapeutic drugs, Biocon entered into a joint venture with the Centre forMolecular Biology, Cuba in 2003 to developseveral novel antibodies.

In 2004 Biocon went public as India’s first Biotech stock.The IPO unlocked a US$ 1 billion (Rs. 4000 crore) valuation on the Indian stock exchange.

In 2006, Biocon acquired a large patent andIP portfolio from a US Biotech company, NobexInc., which enabled it to embark on a cuttingedge Oral Insulin programme. In the same yearit inked a co-development arrangement withVaccinex Inc., another US company to develop apipeline of humanised antibodies.

ProductBiocon’s diverse research base has enabled thedevelopment of a rich pipeline of products thatencompass therapeutic areas like oncology,rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune diseases anddiabetes. Biocon has a key focus on generic andbio-similar drugs driven by its flagship productslike Statins, Immuno-suppressants andRecombinant Human Insulin. Biocon is alsodeveloping an exciting portfolio of novel drugslike Oral Insulin and a number of monoclonalantibodies. Biocon’s BIOMAb-EGFR™ is the firstindigenously developed humanised monoclonalantibody-based drug for treatment of solidtumours of epithelial origin.The drug hasattained leadership in its segment and hasprovided affordable relief to cancer patientsacross the country.The company is now focusedon marketing initiatives that are aimed at makingits branded products like INSUGEN®, Statix,Erypro, Olisat and Metadoze into global brands.

Recent DevelopmentsIn 2007, Biocon established India’s firstbiotechnology Special Economic Zone inBangalore at a cost of approximately US$ 200million (Rs. 800 crore). Spread over 90 acres,Biocon Park is an integrated biopharmaceutical

hub, incorporating state-of-the-artresearch laboratories, USFDA-qualifiedfermentation-based manufacturingplants and India’s first antibodymanufacturing facility.

2007 was a year of intense activityas Biocon formed a joint venture tomanufacture and market a range ofbiopharmaceuticals for the Gulfcountries. It granted a marketinglicense in Pakistan and created anephrology division which launched acomprehensive portfolio of renaltherapy products.The year also sawSyngene enter into a researchpartnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb.

In February 2008, Biocon catapulted into theEuropean market by picking up a 70% stake inthe German pharmaceutical company Axicorp.This addition will enable Biocon to synergise itslow-cost manufacturing capabilities withAxicorp’s low-cost distribution model andaccess the European market for biosimilars likerecombinant human insulin.

The German acquisition came on the heels of Biocon’s strategic partnership with the US-based start up IATRICa Inc., in January 2008.This alliance was forged to co-develop anexclusive new class of immuno-conjugates fortargeted immunotherapy of cancers andinfectious diseases.

PromotionBiocon has two clear corporate missions: tofollow best practices in fast tracking newgeneration biotherapeutic development and toproject quality every time the companycommunicates as Brand Biocon.

To ensure this, Biocon began with the mostbasic of communications tools – the logo – andworked upwards. In sync with its leap forwardas a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company,Biocon acquired a new corporate identity in2003.The new logo, christened the Dynalixdenotes the two strands of DNA and stands forintegrity and dependability – the two valuesBiocon believes are essential for conductingbusiness in the 21st century.The logo, with itsdistinctive colours, stands out in the clutter ofbusiness-to-consumer brands.

The next level of silent communicators werethe company’s annual reports, websites andhealth care collaterals. Each of these, projectquality by combining hi-visual appeal with simple messaging.

Biocon’s interface with its customers areslickly presented continuous medical educationprogrammes on product-related topics andsessions with key opinion leaders. At every one of these events Biocon emerges as a

no-compromise company, dedicated toensuring quality output.

Events such as ‘Winning with Diabetes’and its public interaction on World CancerDay are held to increase awareness aboutthese and other autoimmune diseases.Famous personalities like Shah Rukh Khanand Wasim Akram add to the brand’srecognition and appeal by being associatedwith key product launches.

Without doubt the brand owes much ofits global positioning and recognition to itsfounder, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, who hasherself, won several accolades. She hasbeen called India’s Biotech Queen by TheEconomist and Fortune magazines whilethe New York Times has christened herIndia's Mother of Invention.

Brand ValuesThe name Biocon and the company’spromise – The difference lies in our DNA– are tied to the Group’s identity andcommitment to good science.They

communicatedynamism,cutting edgetechnology,research anddevelopmentand innovation.

Biocon’s riseto eminence isreflected in thebuilding blocksof life itself –the DNA helix.In its infinite,outward spiral,the doublehelix symbolisesthe company’smission to grow into a leadingbiopharmaceutical enterprise of globaldistinction. In its counter-form the Bioconmnemonic resembles the letter ‘B’, reinforcingthe close relationship that exists betweenBiocon and biotechnology.

The Biocon Foundation fulfils the company’scorporate social responsibility by makingavailable medical assistance to the lessadvantaged, rural communities of India.Thecompany’s brand values are reinforced throughan integrated outreach strategy that focuses onsocial change and empowerment of ruralcommunities through public health, sanitationand education programmes.

www.biocon.com

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THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT

Biocon is India’s most admired biotechnologycompany

The development and pioneering spirit ofBiocon is a case study at business schools atUniversities such as Harvard and Oxford

The Biocon IPO was oversubscribed 33 times;it was only the second Indian company to crossthe US$ 1 billion (Rs. 4000 crore) mark on dayone of listing at the bourses

Biocon was India's first biotech company andhad a global rank of sixteen (Source:Biospectrum, July 2004)

Nobel Laureate Prof. James D Watson visitedBiocon on 9th January 1999

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, President of India,inaugurated Biocon Park in June 2006

Biocon is the first Indian company to launch anindigenously developed proprietary anti-cancerdrug to the Indian market in 2006 – BIOMAbEGFR™

Biocon

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