Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Disruptive Pricing

Mazumdar-Shaw is credited with making 'affordable innovation' the foundation of her business model — a phrase the Institute uses to summarize her commercial philosophy. Recognition includes EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2020, Forbes' 100 Most Powerful Women in 2010, and Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Her vision and work, the Institute notes, drew global recognition for both Indian industry and for Biocon specifically.

Mazumdar-Shaw's 'affordable innovation' philosophy is framed by Wikipedia as her driving strategy. When the lovastatin patent expired in 2001, Biocon moved aggressively into statins and expanded to a portfolio of cholesterol-lowering drugs, signing long-term supply contracts to lock in a market base. Statins eventually generated over 50% of company revenue, taking Biocon from Rs 70 crore in 1998 to Rs 500 crore by the 2004 IPO year —.

Early in Biocon's history Mazumdar-Shaw was already showing what WIPO calls her instinct for finding market gaps. She recalls the satisfaction of producing and patenting novel products, such as a new enzyme to clarify tea. Even after Unilever acquired the Irish parent in 1989, enzymes remained core — and WIPO notes that today Biocon supplies around a quarter of the world market in pectinase, the enzyme that breaks down pectin in fruit juice.