Home » business » India's Biocon to set up insulin plant in Malaysia SUPALAK GANJANAKHUNDEE
THE NATION
Bangalore, India

February 20, 2012 1:00 am

Speaking to visiting Asean journalists, the Biocon chief said the first phase should cost US$160 million (Bt3.7 billion) and the facility should start producing by 2014. The facility, investment for which is the largest in Malaysia's biotechnology sector, will become a production base not just for Southeast Asia but also for the global market, she said.

Biocon is currently conducting clinical trials for insulin with a partner in Thailand, where the market for the product is sizeable, she said. Mazumdar-Shaw established the company in 1987 as a pioneer in biotechnology for healthcare. The company now has more than 5,500 workers.

Biocon's objective is to produce pharmaceutical products at affordable prices, she said, noting that the company had managed to bring down the price of insulin significantly.

The secret behind such success is India's low-cost engineering capabilities, notably in Bangalore, where many people in the field are based and research can be conducted at a competitive price, she added.

Unlike many other countries, research in the biotechnology field in India is purely conducted by the private sector with no government subsidies, she said.

Biocon's biosimilar insulin, an outcome of incremental innovation, is one of the world's most affordable therapies for insulin-dependent diabetics, she said.

The company also has expertise in other fields such as chronic kidney disease, heart disease and cancer.

Biocon is developing conjugated antibodies with a US biotech start-up, IATRICa, to potentially deliver therapeutic cancer vaccines. It is also pursuing a path of breakthrough innovation through Phase III human clinical trials to develop the world's first oral insulin, she said.

US trade publication, Med Ad News, ranked Biocon as the world's 20th best biotechnology company in 2008 and Mazumdar-Shaw herself was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.

According to its 2011 annual report, Biocon's revenue rose by 17 per cent from 24 million rupees (Bt15 million) in 2010 to 28 million rupees last year.

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India's Biocon to set up insulin plant in Malaysia