CHENNAI: Biocon founder and chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has decided to pass the baton to her niece Claire Mazumdar as the former prepares succession plan for her four-decade-old biotechnology enterprise.
The 73-year-old entrepreneur said that Claire, 37, will lead the company to its next phase of growth which will be driven by advanced biotechnology innovation and AI.
In an interview with Fortune India, Mazumdar-Shaw said, “I am the sole owner of Biocon, and I need to make sure that I put it in good hands. I have seen my niece Claire as my successor, because I think she has proved to me that she can run a company.”
Her chosen heir, Claire, is a biotech specialist who founded Bicara Therapeutics, a NASDAQ-listed incubated by Biocon. Claire holds a degree in Biological Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a PhD in Cancer Biology from Stanford School of Medicine.
Mazumdar-Shaw also said that Claire's brother Eric Mazumdar, a professor at California Institute of Technology and an AI expert, and her husband Thomas Roberts, a renowned oncologist with Massachusetts General Hospital in the US, will join in broader leadership transition in the enterprise.
Before founding Bicara Therapeutics, Claire worked with Third Rock Ventures and Rheos Medicines in the US. Bicara was listed on the NASDAQ in 2024 and currently commands a market capitalization of over $1.6 billion. Its primary cancer therapy, aimed at treating head and neck cancer, remains in clinical trials. Following the listing, Biocon currently holds approximately a 10% stake in the company.
More recently, Biocon merged its generics and biologics businesses to simplify its corporate structure and reduce debt. This merger aims to position the company to capitalize on its biosimilars segment, which contributes roughly 60% of its revenue. With 12 products already on the market and approximately 20 in the pipeline, Biocon is working to strengthen its position as a global biosimilars leader. As of 2025, the merged Biocon Biologics was valued at $5.5 billion and ranks among the world’s top five biosimilar companies by revenue.