Biocon Ltd.
Snapshot View

Biocon Ltd.

Biocon Limited is engaged in the manufacture of biotechnology products and research services. The Company is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in India. The Company’s shares are listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in India.

Business area of the company

The company is an innovation-led global biopharmaceuticals company committed to enhance affordable access to complex therapies for chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer and autoimmune. It has developed and commercialized novel biologics, biosimilars, and complex small molecule APIs in India and several key global markets as well as generic formulations in the US and Europe. It also has a pipeline of promising novel assets in immunotherapy under development. 

Products

• Generics
• Biosimilars
• Branded Formulations
• Novel Biologics
• Awards & Recognition

1985:

• Export Performance Award, Karnataka State Financial Corporation (KSFC)
• National Award for Best Small Industry, Government of India

2000:

• Technology Pioneer Recognition, World Economic Forum

2001:

• Biotech Product, Process Development and Commercialisation Award, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India

2003:

• Bio-Business Award for bio-entrepreneurship, Rabo India
• Express Pharma Pulse Award for excellence in the pharmaceutical industry

2004:

• Best Reinvention of HR Function Award, Indira Group, Mumbai
• Best Employer Of India Award, Hewitt

2006:

• Best IT User Award in the Pharmaceutical Sector, NASSCOM

2007:

• Syngene receives ‘BioServices Company of the Year’, BioSpectrum Awards
• Biocon's BIOMAb EGFR wins ‘Product of the Year’, BioSpectrum Awards

2008:

• Biocon is ranked among the Top 20 Global Biotechnology Companies
• Biocon is the 7th largest Biotech Employer in the world

2009:

• Biocon among Top 20 Indian Companies in Forbes ‘Best Under A Billion’ list
• Biocon wins Bio-Excellence Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Healthcare Sector at Bangalore Bio
• Syngene wins Bio-Excellence Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Biotech Service Sector at Bangalore Bio
• Biocon bags IDMA 'Best Patent of the Year' Award
• Biocon wins prestigious BioSingapore Asia Pacific Biotechnology Award for Best Listed Company

2011:

• Biocon wins Biospectrum BioPharma Company of the Year Award
• Biocon wins Best Design and Information Award for the Healthcare Sector at Bangalore India Bio

2012:

• Biocon features in Top Twenty Global Employers in Biopharma by Science Magazine
• Biocon wins Excellence in Environmental Management Award
• Biocon wins Best Exhibitor Award in the category of Biocontent and Information at Bangalore India Bio
• Biocon wins Golden Peacock National Quality Award

2013:

• Biocon makes it to the Top Ten Most Admired Companies in the Pharma & Healthcare Sector, Fortune India Magazine, July
• Biocon wins ABLE 10th Anniversary Award for Outstanding Contribution to Biopharmaceuticals for the decade, 2002-2012
• Biocon wins Best Design and Innovation Exhibitor Award at Bangalore India Bio
• Biocon Ranked No. 6 among Top 20 Global Biotech Employers by the Science Magazine

2014:

• Biocon Foundation gets 'Asia Best CSR Practices Award 2014' for 'Cervical Cancer Screening Programme'
• Biocon wins Thomson Reuters India Innovation Awards 2014
• Biocon Foundation wins 'Healthcare CSR of the Year'

2015:

• Biocon wins Golden Peacock Award - 2014 in the 'Corporate Social Responsibility'
• Biocon wins the 'Greentech Environment Gold Award'
• Biocon Foundation wins 'WHO - India Public Health Champion Award 2015'
• Biocon bags 'The Best in-house IP team of the Year' Award at the Global IP Conclave 2015
• Biocon wins prestigious ‘UNNATHA SURAKSHA AWARD’ for Safety & Environment Excellence
• With 'Hall of Fame 2015', Biocon sweeps CIO100 2015 Award with three outstanding honours
• Biocon bags Pharmexcil Gold Patent Award 2014-15
• Biocon is the Only Asian Company to be ranked in Top 20 Global Biotech Employers for 2015
• Biocon wins Procurement Excellence Awards 2015 for ‘Best in Class Excellence in Cost Management’
• Biocon awarded with India's most coveted Packaging Award for Branded Formulation Products
• Biocon receives Greentech Environment Award 2015 for excellence in Environment Management in Indian Pharma Industry

2016:

• Biocon features in Asia IP Elite 2016 List
• Biocon recognised for 'Corporate Best HR Practices' at NHRD
• Biocon's Novel Diabetes Education Initiative for Medical Practitioners 'ABIDE' awarded by RSSDI
• Biocon ranked among Global Top Ten Biotech Employers; the only Asian company to feature in 2016 rankings.
• Biocon wins Frost & Sullivan India Best Practices Award 2016 for ‘Biotechnology Company of the Year’
• Biocon awarded as ‘The Company with Great Managers’
• Biocon wins Gold Award for ‘Company of the Year’ in B2B Marketing at the SABRE Awards, South Asia 2016
• Biocon wins CII Excellence Award for Best EHS practices in Pharma
• Biocon wins National Award for Excellence in Training & Development in Pharma Sector for 2016
• Biocon conferred prestigious status of ‘Transformation Icon’ & ‘Healthcare & Pharma Icon’ for IT Excellence at CIO Awards 2016
• Biocon felicitated at World HRD Congress 2016 for Excellence in Human Resource Management

2017:

• Biocon was honoured with the prestigious Bio-Pharma Excellence Award at Bangalore Technology Summit.
• Biocon featured in ‘Asia IP Elite’ list for the second consecutive time by world’s leading IP magazine IAM at IPBC Asia 2017 held in Tokyo.
• Biocon ranked 09 among Global Biotech Employers for 2017 by Science magazine. The only Asian company to feature in Top 20.
• Biocon was conferred with the ´The Star Exporter Award´ by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI).
• Biocon’s Corporate Communications Team has been ranked No. 13 amongst Top 30 teams in India by Reputation Today magazine.

2018:

• Biocon honoured at the IPBC Asia Award 2018 for the third consecutive year by world’s leading IP Business information provider IAM.
• Biocon conferred at the prestigious CII Industrial Intellectual Property Awards 2018 for having The Best Trademark Portfolio (2013-2018) in the Large Industries (Life Sciences) category.
• Biocon honoured at Pharmexcil Outstanding Exports Award 2017-18 for outstanding contribution to India’s Pharmaceutical Exports during the year 2017-18.
• Biocon’s Learning and Development Team felicitated with 2 Gold Category Awards at TISS-Leapvault CLO Summit 2018.
• Biocon felicitated at World HRD Congress 2018 for ‘Excellence in Training & Development’. The excellent L&D initiatives contributed to the company being ranked amongst the Global Top 10 Biotech Employers.
• Biocon recognised for its SFE Digital Initiative, in BFI Conferred with DigiPharmaX 2017 Award. Biocon received the award under the category of ‘Leveraging technology for use of both digital and onsite promotion for integrated digital marketing’.

2019:

• Biocon's APIs Facility in Hyderabad awarded the Annual Greentech Environment Award for ‘Outstanding Achievements in Environment Management in the Pharmaceutical Sector’ during the 19th Annual Greentech Sustainability Conference.
• Biocon wins 2 awards at the TISS-Leapvault CLO Summit: ‘Learning and Development Team of the Year’ and ‘Best Diversity & Inclusion Program’.
• Biocon wins Unnatha Suraksha Puraskara given by National Safety Council (NSC), Karnataka Chapter for demonstrating excellence in Industrial Safety & Occupational Health Management across its operations.
• Biocon moves up to Rank No. 6 on Science Careers’ Top 20 Global Pharma and Biotech Employers List 2019.
• Biocon Biologics has been recognised as ASIA IP ELITE 2019 at IPBC Asia 2019 held in Tokyo, making it the 4th consecutive year that Biocon Group has been awarded by the world’s leading IP magazine, IAM (Intellectual Asset Magazine).
• Biocon showcases a strong presence at Bengaluru Tech Summit 2019 and wins the ‘Best Exhibitor Award’.
• Biocon Biologics BFI Learning & Development Team wins the ‘Best Training & Development Award’ at L&D World Summit & Awards, Bengaluru.
• Biocon's Global Communications Team recognised among Top 30 in India.
• Biocon wins ‘Best Initiative in Employee Wellness’ at the 3rd edition of the Employee Engagement Leadership Awards.
• Biocon recognised for the ‘Best Initiative in Employee Wellness’ at the 3rd edition of the Employee Engagement Leadership Awards, for its comprehensive approach to ensure physical, emotional, social and environmental well-being.
• Biocon conferred the IDMA Margi Memorial ‘Best Patent Award’ in the ‘Biotech’ category in an event organised by the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA).

2020:

• Biocon bags ‘Best Biotech Patents Award 2018-19’ by Indian Drug Manufacturing Association (IDMA) at the IDMA 58th Annual Day celebration.
• Biocon's Biowin HR team won awards in 4 categories such as Women L & D Programs, Diversity Policies, Large Enterprise and Diversity Programs.
• Biocon's EHS (Environment, Health & Safety) team received the State Level Award in ‘Implementation of Best Safety Practices’ from Department of Factories, Govt. of Karnataka.

Milestones

• 1978: Biocon India Private Limited is incorporated as a joint venture between Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Biocon Biochemicals Limited Ireland. Starting with three employees in a rented shed in Koramangala, suburban Bangalore. Biocon began manufacturing and exporting Papain, a plant enzyme, and Isinglass, a marine hydrocolloid - both, key products for the brewing industry.
• 1979: Biocon’s first export was Papain, a plant enzyme derived from Papaya, to U.S. and Europe, signalling the company's ambition to produce high quality, world class products in India for global markets.
• 1980: Biocon acquires a 20-acre plot on Hosur Road, Bangalore to expand operations. On March 8, 1980, the foundation stone was laid for the building that currently houses the company’s corporate office.
• 1981: Biocon decides to move beyond its frugal operations in rented premises and starts building its own integrated campus at 20th KM, Hosur Road, Electronics City, Bangalore.
• 1983: Biocon’s new campus at 20th KM, Hosur Road, Electronics City, Bangalore is inaugurated by Irish Ambassador H.E. Bernard McHugh. Manufacturing activity shifted from the rented shed to the new site. R&D was also initiated.
• 1984: Biocon established its R&D division, which initially focused on the development of solid state fermentation technology to develop novel enzymes.
• 1989: Biocon Biochemicals Limited, Ireland, including its subsidiaries, are acquired by Unilever Plc. and merged with its wholly-owned subsidiary Quest International, The Netherlands. Biocon India begins producing enzymes for Unilever’s food businesses.
• 1990: Biocon scales up its in-house research program based on a proprietary solid state fermentation technology through a new subsidiary Biochemizyme Limited to scale up from pilot to plant level.
• 1993: Biocon's R&D and manufacturing facilities receive ISO 9001 certification from RWTUV, Germany, making it the first life sciences company in India to get the ISO 9001 Certification.
• 1994: Syngene is incorporated as a Custom Research Organisation (CRO) in 1994 to provide efficient, high-quality, cost-effective research & development services in chemistry and biology to the global pharmaceutical industry.
• 1995: Unilever acquires 50% stake in Biochemizyme and creates Biocon Quest India Limited (BQIL), with Biocon and Unilever holding 50% stake each in the entity. A four-fold expansion of Biochemizyme’s solid state fermentation capacity aims to produce a range of fungal enzymes for the food and pharmaceutical industry.
• 1998: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and John Shaw buy out Unilever’s share in Biocon India Limited making it an independent, privately owned company.
• 1999: Nobel Laureate Prof. James D. Watson, remembered for co-discovering DNA’s double-helix structure, visits Biocon.
• 2000: Biocon establishes Clinigene as India's first Clinical Research Organisation to develop world-class capabilities for clinical research and related activities. Clinigene, a 100% subsidiary of Biocon, starts providing clinical research services to domestic and multinational companies.
• 2000: PlaFractor, Biocon’s patented fermentation reactor, is commissioned. The indigenous PlaFractor fermentation platform proved a commercial success as Biocon was the first company to make Mycophenolate Mofetil using this technology in 2000.
• 2000: Biocon commissions its first fully automated submerged fermentation plant to produce specialty pharmaceuticals.
• 2001: Biocon is the first company globally to get U.S. FDA approval for making Lovastatin API through an innovative solid state fermentation technology.
• 2001: Biocon’s proprietary bioreactor PlaFractor is granted a U.S. and worldwide patent.
• 2002: Biocon establishes a joint venture company, Biocon Biopharmaceuticals Private Limited, with CIMAB S.A., a Cuban biotechnology company, to manufacture biologicals developed by CIMAB, including Nimotizumab & Itolizumab monoclonal antibodies.
• 2004: Biocon is the first company in the world to commercialise recombinant human insulin (rh-insulin), Insugen, using a novel Pichia pastoris yeast expression system.
• 2004: Biocon creates a buzz in the stock market in March 2004 with its hugely successful IPO.
• 2006: Biocon Park, India’s first private Biotechnology SEZ, inaugurated.
• 2006: First company in India to launch a novel biologic, Nimotuzumab.
• 2006: India's largest multi-product Biologics facility inaugurated.
• 2007: Biocon divests enzymes business.
• 2008: Biocon acquires stake in AxiCorp GmbH, a German pharmaceutical company.
• 2009: Biocon, Mylan enter strategic global partnership for development of biosimilars.
• 2009: Biocon launched Insulin Glargine under the brand name Basalog in India, providing diabetes patients with an advanced, affordable insulin therapy.
• 2009: Biocon Bristol-Myers Squibb Research Centre (BBRC) inaugurated.
• 2010: Biocon and Pfizer enter into a strategic global agreement.
• 2011: Biocon starts work on the largest integrated insulins facility in Asia.
• 2011: Biocon launches INSUPen for patients in India.
• 2012: Biocon Research Centre Inaugurated.
• 2013: World’s first anti-CD6 monoclonal antibody Itolizumab commercialised in India.
• 2013: Biocon House inaugurated.
• 2013: Biocon establishes Biocon Academy under its CSR agenda.
• 2014: Biocon introduces world’s first biosimilar Trastuzumab, CANMAb, in India.
• 2015: Biocon’s research services subsidiary, Syngene, debuts on the Indian stock market.
• 2015: Biocon’s new insulin devices facility inaugurated in Bangalore.
• 2016: Biocon Gets its First Generic Formulation Approval in EU.
• 2016: First biosimilar from India to be approved in Japan.
• 2017: First company from India to get U.S. FDA approval for a biosimilar.
• 2017: Biocon’s first overseas facility in Malaysia starts operations.
• 2017: Biocon outlicenses Itolizumab to Equillium for U.S., Canada.
• 2017: Biocon launches its biosimilar Bevacizumab in India.
• 2018: First company from India to have biosimilar commercialised in U.S.
• 2018: Biocon and Mylan’s biosimilar Insulin Glargine, Semglee, receives European approval for commercialisation.
• 2018: Biocon, Sandoz enter global partnership for next-gen biosimilars.
• 2018: Two biosimilars get marketing authorisation in EU.
• 2019: Biosimilars business consolidated under independent entity Biocon Biologics.
• 2019: Biocon becomes the first Indian player to launch biosimilar Trastuzumab, Ogivri, in the U.S. through partner Mylan.
• 2019: Bicara Therapeutics is incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Biocon in Boston, U.S., to focus on developing a pipeline of bi-functional antibodies that exploit the advances in immuno-oncology.
• 2020: True North makes a primary equity investment in Biocon Biologics.
• 2020: Itolizumab Gets DCGI Nod for Restricted Emergency Use in Moderate to Severe COVID-19 Patients.
• 2020: Tata Capital picks up minority stake in Biocon Biologics.
• 2020: Biocon and Mylan achieve the key milestone of receiving U.S. FDA approval and bringing to market both the vial and pen presentations of Semglee (insulin glargine injection), the first for any company following the reference product.