Biocon India Limited

	Fact Sheet Year of Establishment : 1975 Nature of Business : Manufacturer, Exporter Number of Employees : 501 to 1000 People Turnover : US$ 25-100 Million (or Rs. 100-400 Crore Approx.)

NEWS

Pfizer Teams with India Brewmaster [25-FEB-11]
Bloomberg Mumbai :

Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw learned the intricacies of enzymes while studying how to make beer. Now Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, is tapping that knowledge to revive its insulin business. The biotechnology company that Mazumdar-Shaw started in her garage in 1978 for about $1,200 is Asia's biggest insulin maker, with a market value of about $1.35 billion. The Bangalore, India-based group signed a deal in October to supply Pfizer with four generic insulin products in emerging markets, including India and Brazil, and then the US and other developed nations. Biocon received $200 million upfront from New York-based Pfizer, which is re-entering the $14 billion global insulin market almost four years after it scrapped its Exubera inhaler. India's biggest drug-supply deal will help meet global demand forecast by market researcher RNCOS to expand 20% a year through 2015 as the number of diabetics tops 285 million. "This is a perfect match," said Ranjit Kapadia, vice president of institutional research at HDFC Securities in Mumbai. "This deal will open up many more avenues for Biocon. Pfizer gets a low-cost manufacturing base, and they just have to market the products."


Doubling Share :

Pfizer likely will start selling Biocon's insulin under its own brand in the second half of this year, according to the US company. Biocon, India's biggest biotechnology firm, posted a 25% gain in third-quarter profit to $22 million as sales for the period ending on December 31 rose 15%. The company's stock soared about 52% last year, beating the 34% increase in the Bombay Stock Exchange's 18-member Healthcare index. Biocon is down 27% to Rs 306.85 this year, as the benchmark Sensex has lost 14% on concerns government measures to quell inflation will hamper economic growth. Some of Biocon's domestic products are subject to state price controls. It had 4% of India's $168 million insulin market last year, according to IMS Health Information and Consulting Services India in Mumbai. The Pfizer deal may boost that to 10% by value by 2015, said Priti Arora, a pharmaceutical analyst at Kotak Securities in Mumbai. Biocon's best-selling drugs are statins to reduce cholesterol. It also makes drugs for heart disease and cancer, with most of its revenue coming from generics.


Malting & Brewing :

"Insulin will become their biggest revenue generator after this deal," said Siddhant Khandekar, a pharmaceutical analyst at ICICIdirect in Mumbai. Biocon, which employs more than 5,300 people, makes insulin in its factory, Asia's largest, in Bangalore. Mazumdar-Shaw and family members control 61% of the company, according to stock exchange filings, and she is India's fourth-richest woman with a net worth of $900 million, Forbes magazine reported in September. Mazumdar-Shaw, 57, found her inspiration for starting Biocon in beer. Her father was a brewmaster at India's United Breweries and crafted Kingfisher, the nation's No. 1 beer. After graduating from Bangalore University with a zoology degree, Mazumdar-Shaw told her father she wanted to pursue a career in applied sciences. He suggested making beer. "I said, my God, why would I want to do brewing?" she said. "He said, Don't look down on brewing. Look at it as a science". She moved to Australia in 1974 and enrolled in what is now the University of Ballarat, outside Melbourne, to study malting and brewing. She was a trainee brewer at Carlton and United Beverages, which eventually became part of Foster's Group.

Budget gives biotech R&D a miss, honchos furious [02-MAR-11]
Biocon Chief Calls Pranab Document 'A Non-Event', Is Happy She Has Set Up Manufacturing Unit In Malaysia Hyderabad/Bangalore: When finance minister Pranab Mukherjee started talking about the decade of innovation in his budget speech, most biotech players held their breath expecting some sops that would set the sector on the path of innovation. But they were disappointed, as the finance minister moved on after a token announcement about hiking weighted deduction from 175% to 200% on payments made by BT companies for scientific research to national laboratories, universities and institutes of technology.

As Dr Krishna Ella, CMD of Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, said: "Even baby diapers got more attention from the FM. Biotech did not even elicit a mention, which is surprising given that government has declared this as the decade of innovation." Describing the budget as a nonevent Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said: "I am disappointed. This is a budget with minimum focus on reforms. FM has tried to gain the confidence of the stock markets but has done nothing to give impetus to research and development. I was expecting pro-manufacturing, pro-export and pro-FDI policies. She said she had made a good decision to set up a manufacturing unit in Malaysia. They are far more aggressive in attracting investments," Mazumdar-Shaw said.

Vijay Chandru, president of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE), too expressed deep disappointment at the budget bringing absolutely nothing for the biotech and life sciences sector. "This is a sector that can directly make a significant contribution to the country in providing affordable medicines, addressing food and nutrition challenges and in developing technologies for clean energy and environment. However, the budget had no announcements to accelerate and incentivise innovation and technology he said.

Contact Details

Company Name: Biocon India Limited Contact Person: Mr. Prem Soni Telephone: +(91)-(80)-28523434 Fax No: +(91)-(80)-28523443 Address: 20 Km, Hosur Road, Near Electronic City, Bengaluru, Karnataka - 560 029 (India)