About Author:
Shanta Mishra
MBA at IILM-Institute For Higher Education
New Delhi, India
Sonni.m3@gmail.com
Abstract:
This is a paper on the Biocon as an Entrepreneurial venture and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw as a successful entrepreneur. What was the motivation behind this entrepreneurship. The paper also highlights the obstacles or challenges that the company has faced and what were the strategies that were implemented to stay ahead in the head to head competition. It also talks about the leak in the entrepreneur plans of Miss Kiran Shaw and how could those have been improved. Finally it gives the key learning which influenced me and most probably would help me in future to grow my career. Today the number of women pursuing careers in science has increased, slowly but surely. However, a disproportionately low number of women are at senior scientific and leadership positions. Women are seen more as scientific workers and teachers rather than scientists. But this great founder initiated her startup and challenged the status quo of a female entrepreneur and this is the factor which I liked most in her, the challenging personality. This paper highlights all the aspects of an entrepreneurship.
It is well said by Mr. Walt Disney that “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” I am very inspired by Ms. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw who made this statement completely true. It’s a great opportunity for me to talk about Ms. Shaw and “Biocon” as she is one of my favorite from the Pharmaceutical industry.
Biocon is an “AN OPPORTUNISTIC IDEA IMPLEMENTED BY MISS KIRAN MAZUMDAR SHAW”
The beginning of any entrepreneurial action is always the most challenging action, as we take very first step of our journey, feeling our way forward through unfamiliar territory. However when we take these challenges with integrity and full determination, it pays us a rewarding experience. “I don’t give-up easily- the never- say- die spirit has helped me taste success in a venture was a pioneer in its time”. This enthusiastic line is stated by a great entrepreneur and Biocon chief Ms. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.
Biocon is an Indian Biopharmaceutical company with products and research services ranging from preclinical to clinical development through the commercialization. Biocon was setup in 1978 in the garage of her rented house in Bangalore with just Rs10,000 in hand. Biocon, India's largest Biotechnology company focus on delivering affordable innovation. It is committed to reduce therapy costs of chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer and autoimmune diseases by leveraging India's cost advantage by delivering affordable healthcare solutions to patients, partners and healthcare systems across the globe.
There are various subsidiaries, acquisitions and Global alliances of Biocon that includes Syngene International Pvt Ltd, Clinigene,BBPL, Biocon-AxiCorp, NeoBiocon, Biocon and Vaccinex, Biocon and Abraxis and many more. Biocon’s portfolio comprises of 36 key brands across the four therapeutic divisions of Diabetology, Nephrology, Oncology and Cardiology.
Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), biosimilar insulin and novel biotherapeutics are the growth drivers of the company. Biocon has entered into partnerships with companies across the world to gain access to the emerging markets.
Biocon was involved in community programs from its incubation itself, it started a corporate social responsibility branch “The Biocon Foundation” in the year 2004 through which it works in the areas of health, education and infrastructure, especially catering to the rural areas.
Corporate structure of Biocon:
As we can see the structure of Biocon have the combination of Promoters which contribute 68% , ESOP Trust/Employees have 15% contribution , 12% is AIG/IVF division and others include 5%. There are two giant divisions into Syngene which perform Custom research and the Clingene which do the Clinical development works.
The board of directors of Biocon comprises of -
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw - Chairman & Managing Director, Biocon
Mr. John Shaw -Vice Chairman, Biocon
Prof. Charles L. Cooney -Professor, Chemical & Biochemical
Dr. Bala S. Manian - Chairman and Founder, Reametrix Inc.
Mr. Russell Walls –Director, Biocon
Prof. Catherine Rosenberg -Director on the board of Syngene
Ms. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw,born on 23 March 1953 is an Indian Entrepreneur. She is the Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Limited a biotechnology company based in Bangalore, India. Mazumdar Shaw completed her schooling from the city’s Bishop Cotton Girl’s High Schoolin 1968. She wanted to join medical school but took up biology and completed her BSc Zoology Honours course from in1973. She did her post-graduation as a brew-master in Malting and Brewing from Ballarat College, Melbourne University. She worked as a trainee brewer in Carlton and United Breweries.
She started Biocon in 1978 and spearheaded its evolution from an industrial enzymes manufacturing company to a fully integrated Bio-pharmaceutical company with a well-balanced business portfolio of products and a research focus on Diabetes, Oncology and Auto-immune diseases. She also established two subsidiaries named Syngenein1994 to provide development support services as an outsourcing firm for discovery research and Clinigenein 2000 to cater to clinical development services.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Nikkei Asia Prize, 2009 for Regional Growth;Express Pharmaceutical Leadership Summit Award, 2009 for Dynamic Entrepreneur; The Economic Times ‘Businesswoman of the Year’2004; The ‘Veuve Clicquot Initiative” For Economic Development For Asia;Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences & Healthcare in 2002;‘Technology Pioneer’recognition by World Economic Forum and “The Indian Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award”. She was ranked 80 on the world’s100 most powerful women 2012 according to Forbes Magazine.
Ms Shaw chairs Karnataka's Vision Group on Biotechnology and also served on the Board of Science Foundation, Ireland. She presently serves on the Advisory Council of the Government’s Department of Biotechnology where she has been instrumental in bringing government, industry and academia together, to chart a clear and progressive growth path for Biotechnology in India. She is also part of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade & Industry in India and the US-India CEO Forum. Ms. Shaw serves as a Member, Governing Body and General Body of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, an Autonomous Body of the Government of India. She is also a member of the Union Commerce Ministry-instituted committee and works as an adviser of the government on India's export promotion strategy. She is a member of committee of Indian National Corporate governance policy to prepare a draft for a concept paper. She serves as a Member of the Eminent Persons Group of the Competition Commission of India, New Delhi. She is a Member of India Advisory Board for the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. She’s also on the honorary Board of advisors of “The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS)”, USA.
FACTORS THAT CREATED OPPORTUNITY:
When the venture (Biocon) started, not many people in India had heard about the Biotechnology as a career or business opportunity. Ms Shaw wanted to saw the seeds of a Biotechnology enterprise in India realizing the strong opportunity in the upcoming future. At that time Indian economy was in underdeveloped state and there was no proper infrastructure facility available. The factors thatmotivated her towards the venture were her experimenting and learning attitude. She always tried out the new concept and accepted the challenges.
The other factor that motivated her was her Irish joint venture support. With the help of all these positive motivators she tried out to create the wealth for the nation. As the concept was very new there were a huge audience who unaccepted the idea but she believed in herself and kept formulating it this was a reason behind the huge success of Biocon. There is a strong motivation behind any entrepreneurial achievement. There was a lack in the thinking of people about the Biotechnology thing as a business opportunity, but this lady has filled this with her great ideation of an entrepreneurial action. When we plan to start any venture, there are lots of people who do not support it rather they tend to de-motivate us. But the achievement is received when we take these kinds of challenges and make a path across it. Biocon is a perfect example of it. With the help of her passion in Life-science Ms. Shaw dedicated her motivation, filled her creativity inside the idea determined the goal and leaded Biocon.
CHALLENGES FACED:
During the course of time Ms. Kiran Shaw has faced several challenges while starting and growing up the venture. The first big challenge was the availability of the venture capital. She had no access to the venture capital and no bank provided her money without collateral, as she was just 25 year old and very new to the business so people didn’t believe in her. Apart from the financial challenges the other was the credibility challenge because of her young age and feminine gender. At that point of time a female used to be considered very risky for businesses. Her business model was very new and untested like the other businesses at that time. The new concept of “Enzyme extraction and production”was very tough for the society to accept and also the model was pretty costlier and people feared about the commercial viability of this kind of model. She found very difficult to convince people to work with her. The resource scarcity, technological challenges and limited availability of infrastructure forced Biocon to function in a fairly hostile business environment. When we list out the few major challenges it will flow as –
* Financial challenge
* Technological challenge
* Credibility challenge
* Gender bias
* Infrastructure and resource availability challenges.
MILESTONES ACHIEVED:
There are many achievements by the company in due course of time, some important achievements are listed down –
- The company started in November 1978 as a joint venture between Biocon Biochemicals Ltd of Ireland and an Indian Enterpreneur Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.
- In the year 1979, it was the first Indian company to manufacture and export enzymes to USA and Europe.
- In 1989, it was the first Indian Biotech company to use the US funding for proprietary technologies.
- In the year 1993 the company received ISO 9001 certification from RWTUV, Germany
- In 1997, the company started its own manufacturing facilities.
- In 2000, established Clingene, as India’s first Clinical Research Organisation (CRO).
- In 2003, it was the first company worldwide to develop human Insulin on a Pichia Expression System.
- After 2011, the company started divestifying it’s stake in German subsidiary Axicorp Gmbtl.
- In 2013, the company received marketing Authorization from the drugs controller general of India (DCGI) for Novel Biogenic Itolizamab, anti CD6 molecule for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis.
BUSINESS MODEL & STRATEGIES:
The business model of Biocon consists of five key growth verticals – Small Molecules (APIs),Biosimilars, Branded Formulations, Novel Molecules and Research Services. All the five verticals are integrated for growth of the company and also help to cut the competition.
Biocon’s strategy is focused on expanding its presence in the rapidly growing emerging markets through strong regional partnerships.Biocon’s fully integrated business model span the entire value chain from preclinical discovery to clinical development and through the commercialization strategy.
Company focuses on the innovation, Brand building and go to consumer tactics for their strong presence among the Pharma and Biotechnology companies across the world. Three divisions – Syngene, Clingene and Biocon are the backbone of the company and are engaged pre clinical, clinical and commercialization divisions respectively. When Syngene do the preclinical discoveries which is a full on innovation strategy, the next level is early phase discovery that is executed by the clinical research team of Clingene. Then the process scale-up processes are done in the commercialize division. Hence, there is a chain process which is followed to add value at each level of the chain.This unique integrated innovation approach has yielded lots of products and technologies that have enabled multi level relationships with global parterners.
Core competencies:
There are certain areas which define the core competency of Biocon, here are some listed core competencies of the company:
* Unique fermentation base
* Research and Development excellence
* Manufacturing Excellence – flexibility in the product mix and meeting the higher standards of quality.
* Strong customer relationships
* Depth of management and Ability to attract new talents.
Biocon Culture:
When we are talking about the business model and strategies we cannot forget culture which has a major role in keeping everything together. Biocon’s greatest competitive advantage is the culture developed over 25 years. At Biocon the culture maintenance has three major covering areas, these are – Quality, Innovation and entrepreneurial ethos.
Quality:Compliance to international regulatory norms.
Innovation:Highly qualified team comprising nearly 45% postgraduates and 55% graduates having proprietary knowledge management system.
Entrepreneurial ethos: Boundary less enterprise, 15% employee and ESOP Trust ownership.
Value Proposition:
Value proposition is the promise of value that a company makes to deliver. Creating a value proposition is the greatest strategic achievement that a company owns. Biocon has been a step ahead in delivering a true value promise. Here are some important value propositions that Biocon has delivered:
*Focused on the global market segments with regulatory as well as technology barriers.
*Multi product and multi business strategy which is an attractive de-risk model.
*Strong composition of products providing short (Statins), medium (Insulin and immunosuppressant), and long term( Molecular antibodies) prospects for sustainable growth.
*Focus on IP and Technology which is a strong differentiator.
*Having robust financial performance.
Biocon’s integrated business model; source biocon.com
Swot Analysis:
There is some strength, weakness, opportunity and threats that the company carries with it which are listed here:
WHERE DID IT FALL SHORT:
Though the company has pulled up the value chain up in the competition market but what I believe is that the sector requires a streamline regulatory frame work support to enhance the commercialization of value products and Biocon fell short in this framework. Biotechnology is not considered as a priority sector by the government of India. And it has to rest upon the research and development only. The sector needs continuous creativity and innovation. To keep this it requires extensive research work done. Research execution demands expensive equipment to be imported. Government support is needed for this purpose. There are some major drawbacks of the Biotechnology Industry which is impacting Biocon negatively.
ADMIRABLE ABOUT ENTREPRENEUR’S ACTION:
Biocon is a journey from failure to failure and succeeding in the end. Some key features that admire me about the entrepreneur are her ability to take risks, challenge the status quo, and never giving up attitude. It is being said that entrepreneurs are risk takers because they believe that they can transform anything. But taking risk is an act of intelligence and it needs to manage risks well as well as mitigate it. And she has done it very efficiently. The other thing that I like about the entrepreneur is her steps of effective innovation strategies. Biotech is chocked with lots of regulations and there are huge risks and failure rates but she has managed it very strategically.
KEY LEARNING:
There are a few learning which I have found from the story and I probably use it in future for becoming a successful entrepreneur. These key learning are –
- A spirit of taking challenges when the situation is adverse.
- A sense of conviction
- The strength of resourcefulness
- An ethos of persistence
- Leverage failure as learning experience.
Biotechnology is a very rare subject to specialize in especially for women. Therefore it needs to have very perfect strategic plan into one’s mind. Success is all about pursuing a vision with a sense of purpose and a spirit of challenge. There are no shortcuts to success and no substitute for hard work. Success is to do things differently. Knowledge does not have a gender divide. Indian women are making their mark in various diverse fields. One should not be de-motivated by his/her failure rather should learn from one’s mistake. Perseverance is a key factor behind success.Creativity is the spark that drives the ways to do business. Determination is the extremely strong desire toachieve success. Passion is what gets entrepreneurs started andkeeps them there. It gives entrepreneurs the ability to convince others to believe in their vision. Motivation, strategy and realistic vision are the three key factors which are must to have inside us to become an entrepreneur.
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