Biocon is positioning itself for a major global expansion, with biosimilars and insulin emerging as key growth drivers.
In an exclusive conversation with ET Now, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw highlights how India is transforming from the “pharmacy of the world” into an “innovation laboratory,” driving the next phase of global healthcare disruption.
The company is targeting leadership in the global insulin market, backed by capacity expansion, multiple upcoming launches, and strong biosimilar demand.
FY27 is expected to be a pivotal year, with margin expansion, global scale-up, and integrated biotech...
What Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw discussed Biocon's ambition to become the world's leading insulin supplier, building on its position as the third largest supplier by volume. She highlighted that biosimilars have saved the US healthcare system $58 billion since 2016 and sees India transitioning from the 'pharmacy of the world' to an 'innovative laboratory.' She noted that insulin manufacturing shifting to GLP-1s creates a supply-demand gap Biocon can fill. She confirmed Biocon is the leading biosimilar exporter from India and has two interchangeable insulin analogs approved by the US FDA. For FY27, she emphasized the 'one Biocon' integrated model combining generics and biosimilars, with five launches planned. She expressed confidence in margin expansion driven by debt reduction, lower R&D spending, and completed capex.
Key takeaways
Biocon aims to move from third largest to the top insulin supplier globally, leveraging doubled production capacity.
Biosimilars have saved US healthcare systems $58 billion since 2016, with more savings expected from patent expiries.
Biocon is the only company with two interchangeable insulin analogs approved by the US FDA.
Margin expansion is expected due to debt reduction, lower R&D spending, and completed capex.
Numbers and commitments
Figure
What it refers to
Type
At
$58 billion
Savings to US healthcare systems from biosimilars since 2016
Hello and welcome. You tune in to Market Fatafat. I'm Ankeeta Saxena and this is the show where we get you the lowdown on the markets and of course all the stocks that are in focus. And one such name is Biocon that has its eyes on leadership in the global insulin market. The company sees biosimilars innovation and MedTech as key growth drivers ahead. In an exclusive conversation then with ET Now, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw highlighted that India is emerging as a biosimilar powerhouse and is well-positioned to capture the next wave of global healthcare demand, making biosimilars the country's next major export growth engine. Let's listen in to what she had to say.
As you very rightly said, I think you know, India's pharma industry has come a long way over the last 17 years and has come to be known as the pharmacy of the world. And I think this effort has been a very commendable effort over 17 years of developing APIs, developing generics. And generics have really made a huge difference to global health. You know, it has expanded access through affordability. It has basically saved healthcare systems billions of dollars. And for us at Biocon, of course, we've also added to this effort through biosimilars. Biosimilars have now become the new bullseye of growth, of opportunity. And I think from India, we're certainly leading the way. Biosimilars like generics are also helping healthcare systems around the world save billions of dollars. Since 2016, biosimilars have actually helped healthcare systems just in the US save almost $58 billion. And we are counting because the number of biosimilars and specialty generics that are going to come off patent are going to lead to enormous savings around the world and of course provide much greater access to patients around the world who need these medicines. And today of course there's a lot of euphoria around GLP-1s, both for diabetes and obesity. So I think these are exciting times ahead.
But we are also at an inflection point because now India wants to move from just being the pharmacy of the world to also being the innovative laboratory of the world. And I think this is where we are now seeing a lot of Indian companies invest in developing new molecules, new formulations, new devices. And it's an exciting time ahead. So I do look at the next 17 years very differently from the last 17 years because I think India will now start leading from the front by developing new medications, new therapies, new drug delivery devices. And MedTech has a huge opportunity for India.
Okay, exciting times ahead. That's the word coming in. But if you look at the last 17 years, India has proven itself in the generics business. Can biosimilars be the next export opportunity for India's pharma market?
I think that question has already been answered by companies like Biocon. I think Biocon is the leading exporter of biosimilars from India. We also are playing a key role in the insulins market because as the insulin demand grows, Biocon is certainly viewing itself as one of those few insulin players that can address the growing supply-demand gap. And the reason there's a huge supply-demand gap growing is because a lot of insulin manufacturing has shifted to GLP-1 manufacturing. And that's where I think Biocon is also viewing itself as playing a leadership role in insulins.
So, yes, I think every company today in the world markets are viewing biosimilars as the next big opportunity after generics. And India is certainly focused on that opportunity which Biocon has recognized a decade ago and has been leading the way. So, to answer your question, it's already there. It's already happening. And I think India can play a very significant role in following generics with biosimilars.
And since we are talking about insulin, I was just reading an article this morning where you have said that Biocon intends to become one of the largest suppliers in the world of insulin. If you can take us through what the strategic roadmap looks like because I believe already you have set up some production capacity. How much will capacity increase by as far as the insulin is concerned?
So, we started on our insulin journey at the start of the century. And we were India's first recombinant human insulin in 2004, which actually disrupted the insulin model in India. And from India, we took insulins to various global markets. And then, of course, we started on a biosimilar journey where we have the distinction of being the only company globally to have two interchangeable insulin analogs approved by US FDA. And this has basically catapulted us as one of the leading insulin players in the world. We are, as we speak, the third largest supplier of insulin in volume terms, not necessarily value terms, but we are obviously also seeing a huge shift in insulin manufacturing to GLP-1s, and that's opening up a huge opportunity for Biocon to see whether it can really become the leading insulin supplier of the world.
So, from the third biggest supplier, can we actually start moving to the top is the aspiration. Of course, it's an aspiration and a hope, and we will work very furiously to see how we get there. Having said that, we have made huge investments in creating global scale capacities for our insulin manufacturing. We have recently doubled that capacity, and that's why we aspire for this space.
6 more exchanges in this transcript
Sign in free to read the rest of this interview. No card required.
Mazumdar-Shaw, K. (2026, June 17). Biocon Eyes Global Insulin Leadership As Biosimilars Drive Next Growth Wave | Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw [Interview transcript]. ET Now. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1211350/
MLA
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. "Biocon Eyes Global Insulin Leadership As Biosimilars Drive Next Growth Wave | Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw." ET Now, 17 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1211350/.
BibTeX
@misc{mazumdarshaw2026_1211350,
author = {Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw},
title = {Biocon Eyes Global Insulin Leadership As Biosimilars Drive Next Growth Wave | Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, ET Now. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jun},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1211350/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
