Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw ranked number one "Business Captain" in global Medicine Maker 2018 Power List 

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the Chairperson and MD of pharmaceutical major Biocon Ltd, has been ranked No 1 on ‘The Medicine Maker Power List’ 2018, in the Business Captains Category, for her contribution to the world of medicine as an entrepreneur and business leader.

The 2018 Power List is an index of the Top 100 most inspirational professionals in the pharmaceutical industry including pioneering entrepreneurs and CEOs, industry experts, dedicated researchers and regulators. She has cracked the top 10 in this list every year since 2015.

A pioneer of the biotechnology industry in India and the head of country’s leading biotechnology enterprise, Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a first generation entrepreneur. Biocon’s innovative products and research services are enabling access to affordable healthcare for patients, partners and healthcare systems across the globe. The company has successfully developed and taken a range of novel biologics, biosimilars, differentiated small molecules and affordable recombinant human insulin and analogs from ‘Lab to Market’. It has a rich pipeline of biosimilars and novel biologics, including a high potential oral insulin, at various stages of development.

"I am honoured to be on the ‘Medicine Maker Power List’ alongside some pioneering scientists, extraordinary entrepreneurs and CEOs, thought leaders, regulators and change agents. I believe with all my heart that the healthcare industry has a humanitarian responsibility to provide affordable access to essential medicines for patients who need them, through the power of innovation. At my company, Biocon, our research programs are aimed at transforming the treatment paradigms for chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and immune disorders. We are working to develop affordable biological drugs that can benefit a billion patients around the world,” says Kiran.

Her vision and work in the field of biotech have drawn global recognition for both the Indian biotech industry and Biocon. She has also been named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

The list, based on nominations from readers of The Medicine Maker and an expert judging panel, is divided into four categories: Masters of the Bench (researchers), Industry Influencers, Business Captains and Champions of Change. Each category comprises 25 names, with the top 10 in each category receiving a rank. Joseph Jimenez, formerly of Novartis and Raman Singh of MundiPharma came in second and third, respectively.

In the Masters of the Bench (scientists and researchers whose late-night lab work lays the foundations for new therapeutics), the top three ranks were held by Robert S. Langer of MIT, Christopher J.H. Porter of Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Carl June, University of Pennsylvania

The top three Industry Influencers, that is, experts who drive industry best practices and regulations, as well as new manufacturing techniques and technologies were Richard Johnson, PDA, Martin Van Trieste, PDA and Andrew D. Skibo, AstraZeneca/MedImmune, respectively.

Lastly, in the Champions of Change category, which recognises inspirational individuals striving to make the world and the pharma industry a better place, awarded the top three spots to Tomasz Sablinski of Transparency Life Sciences, John Craig Venter, J. of Craig Venter Institute and Steve Davis, of PATH.

The full list can be found here.