Biocon Biosimilar Therapeutics

Biocon, founded by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in 1978, has grown into India's largest biopharmaceutical company and a global leader in biosimilars — affordable versions of complex biologic drugs. Through its subsidiary Biocon Biologics (which acquired Viatris' biosimilars business for $3.3 billion in 2022), the company markets biosimilar versions of trastuzumab (breast cancer), bevacizumab (cancer), adalimumab (immunology), and insulin glargine (diabetes) in over 120 countries.

Biosimilars are to biologic drugs what generics are to chemical drugs — but far more complex to develop. Biologic drugs are produced from living cells, making them impossible to exactly replicate. Developing a biosimilar requires extensive analytical, preclinical, and clinical testing to demonstrate similarity. Biocon has invested decades and billions of dollars building this capability, establishing one of the world's largest biosimilar manufacturing capacities.

Biocon's partnership with Civica to launch private-label insulin glargine in the US directly targets America's insulin affordability crisis. This is the Indian pharma model at work: take a life-saving drug that costs hundreds of dollars in the US, manufacture it at Indian efficiency, and offer it at a fraction of the price. As biologic drug patents expire globally, Indian biosimilar companies are positioned to replicate the disruption that Indian generics brought to the chemical pharma market.