History
Biocon was founded in 1978 with US$10,000 as the initial capital by a Kiran Mazumdar who was born to Gujarati parents in Bangaluru.[6][7]
In 1979, Biocon became the first Indian company to manufacture and export enzymes to the US and Europe.[8]
In 1989, Unilever acquired Biocon Biochemicals Ltd. in Ireland and merged it with its subsidiary Quest International. Biocon received US funding for proprietary technologies.
In 1994, Biocon established Syngene International as a custom research company.
During 1998, Unilever agreed to sell its shareholding in Biocon to the Indian promoters. Biocon became an independent entity.[9]
In 2001, Biocon became the first Indian company to be approved by the USFDA for the manufacture of lovastatin; PlaFractor was granted a US 2001 and worldwide patent.[10]
In 2003, Biocon became the first company worldwide to develop human insulin on a pichia expression system.[11]
In 2006, BIOMAb EGFR, the first indigenously developed humanised monoclonal antibody for head-and-neck cancer, was launched, and APJ Abdul Kalam inaugurated India's largest biotech-hub, Biocon Park.[12]
In 2008, Biocon acquired a 70% stake in German pharmaceutical company AxiCorp GmbH.[13]
During 2009, a Syngene-Bristol Myers Squibb research facility was established in Bengaluru.[14]
Later in 2009, Mylan announced a strategic collaboration with Biocon to enter the global generic biologics market.[15]
In 2010, Biocon expanded to Malaysia, with a biopharmaceutical manufacturing and R&D facility established in Iskandar, Johor.[16]
In 2012, Abbott announced a collaboration with Syngene to open the first nutrition R&D center in India.[17]
During 2013, Biocon launched the biologic drug ALZUMAb to treat psoriasis.[18]
During 2014, Biocon launched the first biosimilar drug, CANMAb, to treat breast cancer.[19]
In 2015, Biocon launched a hepatitis-C drug in India under the brand name CIMIVIR-L.[20]
In 2016, Biocon became the first Indian company to launch a biosimilar insulin glargine pen in Japan.[21]
During 2016, Syngene set up an Amgen R&D center in Bangalore.[22]
In 2017, Biocon's Insugen became the first locally manufactured biosimilar product to be approved for sale by the Malaysian drug regulator.[23]
In 2017, USFDA approved Mylan-Biocon's biosimilar for the cancer drug Herceptin.[24]
During 2018, Biocon and Mylan received the European Commission's approval to market the biosimilar insulin glargine.[25]
During 2021, Biocon Biologics and Serum Institute of India formed a joint agreement to commercialise vaccines, biological drugs, and antibody therapies together.[26] Another aspect of the deal involved Bicocon selling 15% of its biologics subsidiary to the Serum Institute of India, in return for Biocon gaining access to 100 million annual doses of vaccines for a 15-year period.[26]
During 2022, Biocon Biologics bought the biosimilar assets of Viatris for $3.34 billion.[27]
