Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw wanted to join the medical school but eventually became a pharma entrepreneur, turning her company into the country's biggest manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals. Over the past four decades, she has been targeting diseases from diabetes to cancer, and Biocon has established itself as a significant Indian player in the global biosimilar market.
Last year, Fulphila - a biosimilar pegfilgrastim (a white blood cell booster) co-developed by Biocon-Mylan - was successfully launched in the US. It has already captured 21 per cent volume share in pegfilgrastim (pre-filled) syringe market in the US. Biocon and Mylan also got their biosimilar insulin glargine approved in Europe and other regions. With three biosimilars approved in the US and Europe and others in the pipeline, the founder is looking forward to $1 billion in biologics (largely biosimilars) revenue by FY2022.