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India's biggest opportunity is to build global scale in biopharma. The Union government has made some efforts in this regard by announcing a slew of schemes like the RDI (Research Development Innovation), PLI (production linked incentive), among others which companies have leveraged, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw chairperson, Biocon Group.
Even the Biopharma SHAKTI (Strategy for Healthcare Advancement through Knowledge), is intended to position India as a global hub for biologics and biosimilars manufacturing. All these are very good schemes, well-aligned with Atmanirbhar Bharat and India’s aspiration to become a global hub for affordable, high-quality healthcare innovation. These initiatives have enabled companies to expand manufacturing capacity, invest in advanced technologies, and strengthen them to compete internationally. It is imperative for companies to scale. But, we need to be strategic in the way the money is being deployed, particularly in biotechnology, she added.
Biocon gave the media a day-long, first-hand experience of its state-of-the art infrastructure at the Biocon Park on its 90 acre Special Economic Zone, at the Bommasandra Industrial Area, Jigani to provide glimpses of its capability in the research and manufacture of monoclonal antibodies, peptides, and complex generics. These are for therapeutic areas of diabetes, oncology, immunology, obesity, ophthalmology, bone health, cardiology and central nervous system.
The opportunity also marked the occasion to interact with the newly appointed Shreehas Tambe taking over as chief executive officer & managing director, effective April 1, 2026.
In an interaction with the media, Biocon Chairperson said, “We are among the early leaders to build a differentiated portfolio of fermentation-based small molecules and recombinant DNA –based insulins. With focussed investments to build deep capabilities in R&D and large scale bio-manufacturing, Viatris biosimilar business was acquired which added a global commercial engine to our existing platform creating a lab-to patient model and accelerating our ability to serve patients worldwide.”
Commenting on the current policy environment, including schemes like RDI and Pharma Bioshakti, she said these are well-conceived initiatives. “According to me India's biggest opportunity is to build global scale and companies in the country need to focus on that. Here the government’s RDI scheme is very important, and that should be in certain areas where companies want to succeed and make a difference. In India, there are a lot of innovative companies. There are also start-ups developing novel products and some of these are housed in C-CAMP (Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms), Bengaluru among others but are stunted because of not enough capital, said the Biocon chairperson.
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