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help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message biocon limited type public company traded as bse 532523 nse biocon industry biotechnology founded 1978 founder kiran mazumdar shaw headquarters bangalore karnataka india key people kiran mazumdar shaw chairman & md products pharmaceuticals enzymes revenue 3 569.90 crore us 530 million 2015 16 1 net income 970.50 crore us 140 million 2015 16 number of employees 5 585 mar 2011 1 subsidiaries syngene clinigene website www.biocon.com biocon limited bse 532523 is an indian biopharmaceutical company based in bangalore india . ref 1 the company manufactures generic active pharmaceutical ingredients apis that are sold in the developed markets of the united states and europe . it also manufactures biosimilar insulins which are sold in india as branded formulations and in both bulk and formulation forms . in research services syngene international limited syngene is engaged in the business of custom research in drug discovery while the other fully owned subsidiary clinigene international limited clinigene is in the clinical development space . syngene is a listed entity in indian capital market . in december 2009 biocon acquired the active pharma ingredients api undertaking from idl speciality chemicals ltd. a subsidiary of gulf oil corporation limited . located with r & d in bangalore and api unit in hyderabad india biocon has two subsidiaries syngene a custom research organisation and clinigene a clinical research organisation . biocon s presence straddles four main therapeutic areas diabetology cardiology nephrology and oncology and plans to introduce two new divisions comprehensive care and immunotherapy this year when . biocon s cardiology nephrology diabetology and oncology products including bestor basalogtm biomab egfr statix nufil safe insugen tacrograf erypro safe and myokinase are claimed to be considerably less expensive than other leading brands . ref 1 two of its novel programs on the verge of proof of concept stage are in 105 which is the only oral insulin in the world to be in long duration clinical trials and the t1h a novel humanised monoclonal antibody mab the only first in class novel mab being tested in india for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis . ref 1 ref 2 between 2005 and 2010 biocon entered into more than 2 200 high value r & d licensing and other deals within the pharmaceuticals and bio pharmaceutical space . ref 1 it has also expanded its global footprint to emerging and developed markets through acquisitions partnerships and in licensing . biocon s corporate social responsibility wing the biocon foundation is involved in numerous health and education outreach programs targeting the underprivileged sections of india . in 2009 10 biocon s net income increased 44 % to 24.048 billion us 360 million crossing the half billion dollar mark and profits grew 215 % to 2.933 billion us 44 million . the pharmaceutical business exceeded 200.871 billion us 3.0 billion in revenue and the net r & d expenditure increased to 917 million us 14 million growing 42 % over 2008 and up 282 % over 2005 while its research services business crossed 2.807 billion us 42 million . ref 1 biocon syngene and clinigene together employ approximately 4 500 personnel including biologists chemists medical practitioners pharmacologists engineers finance legal marketing analysts hr generalists and general administrators . around 6 % of its employees have phd degrees 45 % have a master s degree and 33 % are graduates . biocon also collaborates with educational institutes to make courses more industry oriented . ref 1 contents 1 history 2 corporate governance 3 subsidiaries acquisitions and strategic global alliances 3.1 syngene international pvt ltd 3.2 clinigene 3.3 bbpl 3.4 biocon axicorp 3.5 neobiocon 3.6 biocon and amylin 3.7 biocon and iatrica 3.8 biocon and mylan 3.9 biocon and optimer 3.10 biocon and vaccinex 3.11 biocon and abraxis 4 biocon technology 5 biocon r & d 5.1 process sciences 5.2 non clinical research 5.3 clinical research 6 products 6.1 diabetology 6.2 nephrology 6.3 oncology 6.4 cardiology 6.5 other conditions 7 growth drivers 8 awards and achievements 9 corporate social responsibility 9.1 health 9.2 education 9.3 infrastructure 9.4 flood relief 10 notes 11 references 12 external links history edit biocon was founded in 1978 with 10 000 us 150 as the initial capital failing to find any financial institution for investment . ref 3 the operations began out of the garage of a rented house with two employees . biocon s first product to go to market was peptinpapain an enzyme found in papaya which is used to prevent beer from turning hazy . ref 4 until 1983 the company blended enzymes and supplied them to brewing textiles biofuels animal feed and other such industries across the world . in the mid 1980s with a loan of us 250 000 from icici bank biocon was able to build a solid state fermentation plant which helped in the growth of its r & d. in 1989 the irish biocon was acquired by unilever . in the mid 1990s kiran mazumdar shaw decided to focus on biopharmaceuticals rather than enzymes . but unilever a major shareholder did not want to be in the biopharmaceuticals business . at that time john shaw the scotsman whom kiran mazumdar shaw had married in 1998 used his savings to reclaim the entire biocon stake from unilever . ref 5 biocon soon ventured into the lucrative biopharmaceutical segment . foreseeing a great opportunity when branded drugs went off patent they began to develop lovastatin a cholesterol lowering drug whose patent expired in 2001 . biocon eventually began making other forms of statins . the company s revenue went up from 700 million us 10 million in 1998 to 5 billion us 74 million in 2004 when it went public . ref 6 in 2007 biocon made a strategic decision to divest its historic enzymes business to novozymes a s of denmark . today biocon has evolved from an enzyme company to a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company . it now focuses its activities on its bio pharma business verticals that include apis biologicals and proprietary molecules both commercialised and under development . ref 7 in 2006 biocon launched biomab egfr ref 8 the first indigenously developed humanised monoclonal antibody for head and neck cancer . biocon s milestone events in each year are as follows ref 9 29 november 1978 biocon india is incorporated as a joint venture between biocon biochemicals ltd. of ireland and kiran mazumdar shaw . 1979 becomes the first indian company to manufacture and export enzymes to usa and europe . 1989 unilever plc. acquires biocon biochemicals ltd. in ireland and merges it with its subsidiary quest international ; biocon receives us funding for proprietary technologies . 1990 scales up its in house research program based on a proprietary solid substrate fermentation technology from pilot to plant level . 1993 biocon s r & d and manufacturing facilities receive iso 9001 certification from rwtuv germany . 1994 establishes syngene international pvt. ltd. as a custom research company crc . 1996 the commercial success of biocon s proprietary fermentation plant leads to a 3 fold expansion ; enters biopharmaceuticals and statins . 1997 spearheads initiatives in human healthcare through a dedicated manufacturing facility . 1998 unilever agrees to sell its shareholding in biocon to the indian promoters . biocon becomes an independent entity 2000 commissions its first fully automated submerged fermentation plant to produce speciality pharmaceuticals ; establishes clinigene india s first clinical research organisation cro . 2001 becomes the first indian company to be approved by usfda for the manufacture of lovastatin ; plafractor is granted a us 2001 and world wide patent . 2002 clinigene s clinical laboratory receives cap accreditation . 2003 biocon becomes the first company worldwide to develop human insulin on a pichia expression system . 2004 day 1 on the bourses closes with a market value of 1.11 billion making biocon only the second indian company to cross the 1 billion mark on the first day of listing ; syngene establishes new research centre ; biocon launches insugen ; biocon partners with vaccinex to discover and co develop at least four therapeutic antibody products . 2005 signs a commercial agreement for supply of insulin api to asia africa and the middle east . 2006 inaugurates biocon biopharmaceuticals india s largest multi product biologics facility at biocon park ; inaugurates biocon park india s largest integrated biotechnology hub ; licensing agreement with bayer healthcare bhc for the exclusive marketing and trademark rights for insugen for the chinese market ; syngene signs a cooperation agreement with innate pharmaceuticals to jointly develop manufacture and market virulence blockers to counteract bacterial diarrhoeal disease ; biocon launches india s first anti cancer drug biomab egfr . 2007 biocon and neopharma sign an mou to establish a jv to manufacture and market a range of biopharmaceuticals for the gcc countries ; grants exclusive license to ferozsons laboratories limited for marketing biomab egfr in pakistan ; announces the launch of its nephrology division and a comprehensive portfolio of renal therapy products ; syngene enters into a research partnership with bristol myers squibb ; biocon signs mou with deakin university australia to establish deakin research institute in bangalore ; divests enzymes division for us 115 million to novozymes ; biocon and abraxis bioscience announce an agreement wherein abraxis will license the right to develop a biosimilar version of g csf granulocyte colony stimulating factor in north america and the european union ; biocon and neopharma sign an mou to establish neobiocon a jv company in dubai ; biocon and abraxis bioscience inc. announce a licensing agreement for the commercialisation of abraxane in india ; biocon presents the results of phase 1 studies on its oral insulin product in 105 at the european association for study of diabetes easd meeting held at amsterdam . 2008 biocon acquires a 70 % stake in german pharmaceutical company axicorp gmbh for a consideration of 30 million ; launches a safety device in the form of pre filled syringes for two of its life saving products gcsf and epo in collaboration with safety syringes inc. ; biocon and abraxis bioscience launch abraxane in india for treatment of breast cancer ; biocon ranked among the top 20 global biotechnology companies med ad news ; biocon is the 7th largest biotech employer in the world med ad news ; neobiocon and abraxis bioscience launch abraxane in the uae . 2009 syngene partners with sapient discovery to expand integrated drug discovery offerings ; syngene and dupont crop protection forge alliance partnership ; bristol myers squibb and syngene open new r & d facility at biocon park ; biocon launches basalogtm long lasting basal insulin for type 1 & type 2 diabetics ; biocon inks partnership with isb to launch the biocon cell for innovation