Biocon to acquire axiCorp

Biocon Ltd, on February 11, 2008 has announced that it has reached agreement to acquire a 70% stake in German pharmaceutical company, AxiCorp GmbH for a consideration of €30 Million. This will enable the marketing and distribution of a range of pharmaceuticals including generics, biosimilars, biologics and innovative pharmaceutical products in Germany and Europe. Allegro Capital were the financial advisors to Biocon on this transaction.

AxiCorp is a specialized marketing and distribution company established in 2002 by a group of industry experts to address the lucrative generics and parallel distribution market in Germany and Europe. AxiCorp is ISO 9001 certified with a differentiated distribution model that is aligned to the radically altered way the German pharmaceutical market now functions.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon said, "AxiCorp is a key strategic investment for Biocon as it heralds our European foray for biosimilars like Recombinant Human Insulin. Biocon is investing in AxiCorp’s very impressive entrepreneurial team and its highly differentiated business model, which will help us build strong marketing and distribution capabilities in Europe. Both companies share a common vision of affordable healthcare which we can deliver through a combination of Biocon’s low cost manufacturing and AxiCorps low cost distribution. We are delighted to welcome AxiCorp to the Biocon group of companies as an autonomous subsidiary. We look forward to the continued leadership role played by Holger Gehihar and Dirk Ullrich in steering AxiCorp to new levels of growth."

With the strategic investment in AxiCorp, Biocon establishes its first presence in Europe in order to market its injectible insulin on its own, and also to build up marketing and distribution capabilities for many other products of its portfolio.

Kiran Mazumdar wins award

Biocon Ltd has announced that Mr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shwa, Chairman and Managing Director of the Company has been honoured with the 'Veuve Clicquot Initiative For Economic Development For Asia’ award. The award for Economic Development was introduced for the first time in 2007. There were three Economic Development awards that went to three women from Asia (India) Latin America (Bolivia) and Africa (Algeria). This is a special award that looks beyond business success to CSR and a combined effort to bring about economic change in developing economies. Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has been nominated as the very first winner for Asia. Ms. Shaw was presented the award at Reims, one hour away from Paris over a unique two-day function.

Started in 1972, the Veuve Cliquot Business Woman Award was created to pay lasting tribute to one of the world's greatest businesswomen, probably the very first one, Madame Clicquot. The award celebrates special women who have demonstrated undisputable business success, clear strategic vision, entrepreneurship, daring vision and unique leadership skills, providing them wide recognition within their business sector as well as the media.

Highly prized, it is the first and original award for women in business life. In its 35th year, the Award was founded to celebrate the memory of Madame Clicquot, who created the Champagne House that bears her name. Her audacity, bravery and creativity are celebrated each year, in the light of the finalists whose achievements, in their turn, present role models for women aspiring to take their place in the business world

Biocon

Biocon Ltd has announced that the Company has presented the results of Phase 1 studies on its oral insulin product, IN-105 at the European Association for Study of Diabetes (EASD) meeting held at Amsterdam on September 21, 2007. Phase 1 studies were conducted on healthy volunteers who have been administered IN-105 in the form of a tablet. The human clinical data on IN-105 was presented at the session on Novel therapies. Based on these promising results, the Company intends to now develop this molecule through further clinical trials.

IN-105 is a novel analog of insulin, proprietary to the Company. The product has special properties that make it feasible for delivery in tablet form stable at room temperature. The advantages of tablet delivery go beyond the obvious. Besides being a needle-free insulin, this method of delivery allows IN-105 to be delivered into the body in a physiological manner that mimics the way that the pancreas release insulin into the circulation (i.e. into the portal vein). This contrasts with all the other known methods of delivery, including inhaled insulin, which brings in insulin from the periphery into the circulation.

Ms. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, of the Company said, "This is indeed an encouraging step towards our efforts of bringing an oral insulin to diabetic patients across the world. IN-105 promises to be a significant value differentiator in Biocon's quest for global leadership in the insulin segment."

The Company has carried put all of the development for this molecule, including clinical development at its facilities in Bangalore, India. It has also recently obtained approval from the Swedish medical authorities to carry out Phase 1 human clamp studies for this molecule in Sweden. This will be the first such clinical trial outside of India for IN-105. The Swedish trial will be carried out at the Karolinska Institute clinical research unit and will be focused on obtaining more pharmacological understanding of the mode of action of IN-105.