Biocon succession plan: Biocon founder and chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw opens up on succession plan for the biotechnology giant. In an exclusive interview with ET Now, she mentioned her niece Claire Mazumdar, indicating her to be the successor.

For me, it was very clear; I was grooming my niece, Claire Mazumdar, to ultimately take over from me. I have seen her grow into a successful entrepreneur at Bicara Therapeutics. I think she has done an outstanding job raising capital, taking the company public and managing the asset in a way that she has got a breakthrough designation, and I think she has earned her stripes in that sense.

I give her about 5 years in which I can hand over the charge to her in that time frame. I would like her to work along with me and understand the business well, which she already does. Having grown up with my niece, she understands Biocon very well, and she is very emotionally linked to Biocon because of that. Therefore, I think she is a very worthy successor, says Biocon founder and chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw further said, "Claire Mazumdar has done an outstanding job at Bicara Therapeutics... she is a worthy successor. I'm giving her five years to take over the reins".

Biocon succession plan: Claire Mazumdar likely to overtake

Mazumdar-Shaw said she sees Claire as the right person to lead Biocon, a leading biopharmaceutical firm, into its next phase of growth.

"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," she said.

Claire Mazumdar, who is currently the founder and CEO of Bicara Therapeutics, a Nasdaq-listed company incubated by Biocon.

Mazumdar-Shaw -- who has no children -- said a broader family ecosystem could also support the company's future growth.

This includes Claire's brother Eric Mazumdar, a professor at the California Institute of Technology and an AI expert, as well as her husband Thomas Roberts, an oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

As part of a wider organisational overhaul, Biocon has merged its generics and biologics businesses, simplified its structure, and reduced debt. The company is sharpening its focus on biosimilars, which contribute a significant share of revenue, with several products already in the market and more in the pipeline, Mazumdar-Shaw said.

Moreover, the chosen successor holds a degree in Biological Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a PhD in Cancer Biology from Stanford School of Medicine.

The report also highlighted that leadership transitions are also underway across group companies.

It added that Shreehas Tambe has taken over as CEO and Managing Director of Biocon Biologics, while Siddharth Mittal is set to lead Syngene International from July 1.