India’s most celebrated first generation woman entrepreneur and the founder chairperson of leading Indian biopharmaceutical company Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has maintained for long that India’s future and growth prospects are inescapably linked to its ability to undertake research and focus on innovation. She was in Hyderabad for the ground breaking of the expanded research facility of Syngene, Biocon’s publicly listed subsidiary and one that calls itself India’s first contract research organisation. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is also the non-executive chairperson at Syngene. Among other things, she shares here her insights on the prospects for India in a world where leading companies abroad are seeking to redefine their global sourcing geography. Here are the excerpts:
What stands out about the new and expanded facility that Syngene is building in Hyderabad?
Whenever you set up a research facility, it is essentially linked to the availability of talent and Hyderabad has a very good talent eco-system for life sciences just like Bengaluru and therefore we believe both these locations can be important hubs for research. Both Bengaluru and Hyderabad offer different kinds of talent. For instance, the strength of Bengaluru lies in its biological sciences talent whereas in Hyderabad it is the skills in biochemistry and chemicals because of the nature of the pharmaceutical industry there. Hyderabad is now also getting to offer talent in biology with many companies getting into this space. All of it brings together an ability to replicate, compliment and synergise. We already have about 1000 scientists in Hyderabad and now will be adding another 1000. Off course, Bengaluru is still the largest hub because there is bio-manufacturing added. The key point is that we are expanding very fast and at scale and this is something you need to bear in mind.
The reason why anyone would want to undertake all of this is because we see a huge business opportunity and need to be ready for it because it is more gestational and involves setting up facilities that will take couple of years,getting them qualified and then get the business.
Are you seeing any upside from the China plus sourcing strategy that everyone seems to be talking about?
I think clearly there is an opportunity because companies want to de-risk. I do not think they all want to exit China but then they do want to re-risk China and in order to do this they are seeking to develop India as the next hub. It is certainly happening but we need to match the Chinese skills such as in every manner, including in research. Please remember China has invested hugely into technology and we are only now investing huge sums into lifesciences technology. But if you look at the speed at which China delivers services, we need to catch up. I think we are getting there and are almost there. But then, it is a fact that China still remains a rich source of talent and is a global resource when it comes to scientific and computational talent. Nonetheless, with India, I do see a natural equation getting created and companies will start preferring India as we come up to Chinese scale and speed of delivery.
Can this now mean a higher growth for Syngene? What gains are you seeing for Syngene in this China plus one narrative and the redesigning of global sourcing geography?
We are already getting it. A lot of people are de-risking by having a lot of their business done in India and Syngene is the preferred option because of the fact that we have invested in cutting edge technology and now doing so at scale with presence both in Hyderabad and Bengaluru and driven by the need to go to where the talent is.
Are you seeing this shift happening for Syngene?
All I can say at the moment is that a lot of clients are looking at a two-pronged strategy with those heavily invested in China seeking a de-risking with India.
How will all of this mean a higher growth for Syngene?
Well, Syngene is growing at a very high clip and I think all these business opportunities will give it an even higher growth sustainability.
Has the global biotech funding crunch impacted Syngene clients?
We think the funding will come back. We are seeing the good companies getting funded but in the past every company used to get funded and we could pitch for every business. But today, we are seeing a lot of those companies are challenged and we are looking at different models and will see how to help in any way and perhaps also create an opportunity for Syngene.
You say you are expanding fast and at scale in research, what is the you reading of the research spending in India?
Our risk appetite has to increase and every thing cannot happen in a year or two. You have to have a risk runway that is much longer than what it is today.
