Post News Network
‘I’ve had many failures in terms of technological… business… and even research failures. I really believe that entrepreneurship is about being able to face failure, manage failure and succeed after failing’. These are the famous words of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw about the spirit of entrepreneurship. In a country like India, where women participation in business activity is minimal, she has become the epitome of success for all women for not only building a successful business establishment from scratch, but also for doing some pioneering research in the field of biotechnology. Recent successful listing of Syngene, which is a part of Biocon, tells her success tale.
Born in a Gujarati family in Bangalore, Shaw started Biocon India in 1978 in a garage of her rented house in Bangalore with an initial capital of Rs 10,000. As a young entrepreneur, she faced innumerable challenges in the form of funding, scaling up, manpower and acceptance among others. Her business model, which revolves around manufacturing of enzymes, was relatively new in its concept at that point of time. She, however, proved her mettle by not only producing enzymes named papain and isinglass, but was able to export them to United States during the very fast year of its operations. And as they say, there was no looking back for her, who was destined to do greater things in life through her sheer grit and determination.
Today, market capitalization of Biocon is close to Rs 9,000 crore with numerous products under its portfolio. It manufactures generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and biosimilar insulins among others. Its subsidiary, Syngene International Limited (Syngene) is engaged in the business of custom research in drug discovery. Biocon is not only credited for doing some pioneering research in the field of biopharmaceuticals, but is also able to manufacture them at a lower cost, making them affordable for a lot of poor patients.
Placed in Forbes list of 100 most powerful women in the world, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has received many national and international awards for her work in the field of biotechnology. She inspires a generation of entrepreneurs who dream to be making it big in the fields of science and technology. Also, when the country is facing a dearth of innovation in basic science and other allied areas, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is an inspirational figure for young dreamers.
