I faced a number of challenges whilst I built Biocon. Initially, I had credibility challenges where I couldn't get banks to fund me; I couldn't recruit people to work for a woman boss. Even in the businesses where I had to procure raw materials, they didn't want to deal with women.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
I believe in never giving up, no matter what the odds. My mantra is, 'Failure is temporary. Giving up is permanent.'
When I started Biocon in 1978, the obstacles I needed to navigate were manifold - ranging from infrastructural hurdles to issues related to my credibility as a business woman. With no access to venture capital, money was scarce and high-cost, debt-based capital was all I had.
One of my objectives when I started Biocon was to make sure that I create a company for women scientists to pursue a vocation.
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.
If you think about brewing, it is biotechnology. And I would say that I was a technologist at heart. So whether I... fermented beer or whether I fermented enzymes, the base technology was the same.
I do serve on various boards and I'm very honest and frank, obviously. I am a very forthright person and I do, sort of, share my candid views on anything.
I owe my drive and determination to my upbringing, which instilled in me a set of values that make me who I am.
I am very concerned about the fact that India as a country does not have a national health system, and I am determined to try and influence the government to really build a national health system for the country.
There is artistic beauty to the way biology functions, nature functions, and science functions. I am trying to bring that kind of understanding in the design space.
I was greatly inspired by my late father, who was a well-known name in the brewing industry. It was he who encouraged me to take the road less traversed and gave me the confidence to pursue my path of entrepreneurship.
I hate the title of being called 'the richest woman in India,' but it's the recognition that this was the value that I had created as a woman entrepreneur, and that makes me very, very proud.
I want to make sure that our bio-similars capture a huge market share and help cancer patients around the world, which we are already doing in the developing world because we didn't have access to these drugs. Biocon enjoys a large reputation of giving them high-quality cancer drug.
I think, in terms of corporate philosophy, I've always believed that you've got to treat people in a very very egalitarian manner in the sense I like to treat people on a one-to-one basis. And I like people to take on a lot of responsibilities because I think with a sense of responsibility also comes a sense of purpose.
Innovation and commerce are as powerful tools for creating social progress as they are for driving technological advancement.
What really got me focused on cancer was when my best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, and even though she was a well-to-do person, I found that her treatment costs were crippling.
I have a great team who has helped me build Biocon, I was very fortunate to be able to share my vision with a group of people who really were as excited about challenges as I was.
I want to be remembered as someone who put India on the scientific map of the world in terms of large innovation. I want to be remembered for making a difference to global healthcare. And I want to be remembered as someone who did make a difference to social economic development in India.
As a traditionally risk-averse nation, India has rarely been at the forefront of innovation. Indian companies have mostly imitated others and became very good at it.
I guess I was very fortunate; I had a very very, lets put it this way, I had very wonderful upbringing and a childhood where my parents, of course, exposed us to many cultural aspects, not only of India but other parts of the world.
The brewing industry is a very, very male dominated industry. It's a male bastion.
In India, I personally believe yes, there is a clear fear of unknown; there's a lot of risk aversions in science and technology. They want predictability in everything they do, and it starts from people. It starts from investors. It starts from the regulators. You see that mindset across the society.
My father was a brew master. He was the one who I was very close to, he influenced me in many many ways including my pursuing a career as a brew master.
I think there's a certain paranoia about science because there is a certain risk related to science which people are very wary about, and therefore, there is an inherent risk aversion to science and technology or, at least, science and technology of unknown.
My passion for innovation and my interest in the 'business of science' has seen Biocon commercialize many innovative platforms and products.
Indian business women like Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochhar, Naina Lal Kidwai, Shikha Sharma, Swati Piramal, Anu Agha, Swati Piramal, Sulajja Firodia Motwani and Zia Mody have put India on the global firmament.
You have to build a culture of philanthropy. In a country like India, we need to be sensitive and caring about the poorer, more disadvantaged section of our country.
As you become more successful, the gender barrier disappears. The credibility challenges you have during your growing up years starts disappearing when you start demonstrating success.
Unfortunately, our stock is somehow not well understood by the markets. The market compares us with generic companies. We need to look at Biocon as a bellwether stock. A stock that is differentiated, a stock that is focused on R&D, and a very, very strong balance sheet with huge value drivers at the end of it.
My legacy is going to be in affordable health care. I am willing to invest in developing that model and the policies around it.
It was a chance encounter with a biotech entrepreneur from Ireland that got me started as an entrepreneur in India, because I partnered this Irish company in setting up India's first biotech company.
It is always nice to reflect on how one started.
Once you start succeeding, you start dreaming big. For me, it was that way.
I don't know whether I can call myself a visionary.
Pioneering companies always try out new things and experiment with new concepts and new things.
I belong to the breed of first-generation entrepreneurs who have basically created our enterprises with very frugal resources.
Being in a field like healthcare, for me, as someone who is basically on a mission to make a global impact in terms of affordable access to healthcare, I am very, very concerned about the fact that there are a large number of people in this world who need to have some access to basic rights, whether it is in education or healthcare.
Inherently, I have a social conscience which my late father inculcated in me. He was not exactly a very wealthy man, but he was very concerned about the underprivileged, about the people who didn't have equal opportunities.
My philanthropy is largely focused on healthcare, and I really want to make a difference to people's lives.
In Vedic times, we had the great quest for the unknown. We did wonderful things; we celebrate our past vigyaan and our wonderful heritage of science and technology of the Vedic times.
I am very passionate about India's place in bio-pharmaceuticals, and that is what I really want to drive and create leadership for in India because I really think it is possible.
I call myself an accidental entrepreneur. I was all set to take up a brewing job in Scotland when a chance encounter with an Irish entrepreneur led me to set up a biotech business in India instead.
India is a fertile ground for entrepreneurs, given its large pool of world-class talent and resources. India's ability to generate wealth and create social good will come if we let entrepreneurs flourish by encouraging and enabling innovation.
We need to ask ourselves: What use is our scientific endeavor and innovation when they are inaccessible to the people who need them the most? It is only when the benefits of research reach the person on the lowest rung of the economic ladder that it can be considered to have delivered true value.
I have successfully challenged the Western world's existing model of pharmaceutical innovation, which leads to the creation of monopolistic markets for novel, life-saving drugs that deliver high margins at low volumes.
Biocon is on a journey of making impact on global healthcare. I have to make sure that I have one in five persons who needs insulin therapy to use a Biocon product - that is my dream.
Design, art, and science are all a melange.
People believe that art and science are two distinct realms. It is far from the truth because, if you look at science from a microscope or from a different lens, you can see the beauty in science. It is very artistic.
