Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Executive Chairperson — Biocon

About Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Key facts Role: Executive chairperson Organisation: Biocon Limited (and Syngene International) Country: India Sector: Biotechnology Headline figures: Consolidated operating revenue of Rs16,927 crore in the year to 31 March 2026; biosimilars reached more than 6.5 million patients Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw spent 2026 reshaping the company she founded in a garage nearly five decades ago. In a single year she merged Biocon's biosimilars and generics businesses into one listed company, installed a new chief executive, and in May named her successor. That leaves India's best-known biotechnology founder more clearly than ever in charge of both the business and the question of who runs it next. The role Mazumdar-Shaw is executive chairperson of Biocon Limited and of Syngene International, its listed research and manufacturing services arm, and has chaired Biocon's board since she founded the company in 1978. In the year to 31 March 2026, Biocon reported consolidated operating revenue of Rs16,927 crore, up 13 per cent on a like-for-like basis, and EBITDA of Rs3,798 crore. Biosimilars brought in Rs10,431 crore of that, generics Rs3,168 crore and Syngene Rs3,739 crore. The company says it operates in more than 120 countries, with seven manufacturing sites and over 9,500 employees, and its biosimilars reached more than 6.5 million patients in the year to March 2026. Background Her career began in brewing rather than medicine. After a zoology degree from Bangalore University she took a postgraduate qualification in malting and brewing at Ballarat in Australia, then started Biocon in Bengaluru in 1978 as a small enzymes company. She later steered it into insulins, biosimilars and novel biologics, building what Fortune India calls the country's largest biotechnology enterprise. Along the way she founded the Association of Biotech-Led Enterprises, the industry body she still chairs, and served as lead independent director of Infosys from 2018 to 2023. Restructuring and succession The defining moves of the past year were structural. Biocon made Biocon Biologics a wholly owned subsidiary, which the company says creates "a simplified and unified corporate structure". On 1 April 2026 Shreehas Tambe, the long-serving head of Biocon Biologics, took over as the first chief executive and managing director of the combined group. Announcing his appointment on 27 March, Mazumdar-Shaw said the integration created "a uniquely positioned, globally scaled biopharma enterprise". Biocon describes its biosimilars unit as one of the world's top five by revenue, valued at US$5.5 billion in 2025. Succession followed. In an interview published by Fortune India on 5 May 2026, she named her niece Claire Mazumdar, founder and chief executive of the Nasdaq-listed Bicara Therapeutics, as her chosen successor. "I have seen my niece Claire as my successor, because I think she has proved to me that she can run a company," she told the magazine. No date has been set for the handover. She also told Fortune India that differentiated biosimilars, original biologics and artificial intelligence would drive the next phase. Global reach Her reach goes well beyond India. Biocon's biosimilars are sold in the United States and Europe, where in 2026 the company launched denosumab biosimilars in the US and secured approval for generic liraglutide, a GLP-1 drug, from the US Food and Drug Administration. She sits on the boards of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the MIT Corporation, is vice-chair of the US-India Business Council's global board, and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering. That gives her a prominent voice on drug pricing, regulation and India's life-sciences policy. “I have seen my niece Claire as my successor, because I think she has proved to me that she can run a company,” — Mazumdar-Shaw, to Fortune India What to watch next: whether Biocon delivers the "Consolidate" phase Tambe has set out for fiscal 2027, including better margins in generics, and how quickly its GLP-1 and obesity products scale. At Syngene, Siddharth Mittal was due to take over as managing director and chief executive from 1 July, under a plan to make fuller use of its contract manufacturing capacity. When Claire Mazumdar arrives will show how the founder era ends. She ranks 16th because she founded Asia's leading biosimilars group, still sets its direction, and is now deciding who will lead Indian biotech's flagship after her. Sources Biocon, Shreehas Tambe Appointed CEO & Managing Director of Biocon Limited, Effective April 1, 2026 , 27 Mar 2026 Biocon, Biocon Q4FY26 ... FY26 Total Income at Rs 17,270 Cr , 7 May 2026 Biocon, Board of Directors profile: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (accessed 29 Sep 2026) Fortune India (P B Jayakumar, Joe Mathew), Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw charts Biocon's next phase; identifies niece Claire Mazumdar as successor , 5 May 2026

Why this entry is on the list

She ranks 16th because she founded Asia's leading biosimilars group, still sets its direction, and is now deciding who will lead Indian biotech's flagship after her. In the past year she merged Biocon's biosimilars and generics businesses into one listed company, installed Shreehas Tambe as chief executive, and in May named her niece Claire Mazumdar as her chosen successor.