For the first 19 years of its existence, Biocon primarily manufactured enzymes. However, around mid-1990s, with the decline in demand for enzymes, Biocon starting developing its growth strategy into other markets. They recognized the increased demand for outsourced R&D in the pharmaceutical sector and created a subsidiary, Syngene International, in 1994 to develop globally competitive process technology. The company also identified the biopharmaceutical market and generic drugs as their entry point to produce pharmaceuticals. They decided to leverage their fermenting expertise to produce generic pharma molecules.
In 2001, after gaining independence from Unilever, Bicon began to develop and establish its brand positioning. It became the first company to be approved by the U.S. to manufacture statins that could be distributed in the U.S., eventually gaining a 15% to 20% U.S. market share. But when Statins’ prices started to wane, Biocon, remaining true to its growth strategy, entered the higher-price-fetching insulin market. Their brand positioning worked well for them as they were the only Bio-tech company that could meet India’s market demand. The company simultaneously developed its marketing strategy and skills from scratch. Also the point-of-difference with their only competitors in India, Novo and Eli Lily, was the 20% to 30% price difference in favor of Biocon. They quickly gained 10% of the Indian market and 25% to 30% of new insulin prescriptions.
Anticipating the maturing of the Indian drug market, Bicon developed its growth strategy further. This time they shifted their attention to proprietary drugs. By 2004, Biocon was not only a fully integrated biotech company doing clinical trials, but also an IPO.
With the advent of BIOMab, Biocon business strategy evolved further and incorporated inlicencing, partnerships and collaboration with other companies