Quotes from Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

One of my objectives when I started Biocon was to make sure that I create a company for women scientists to pursue a vocation.

I have successfully challenged the Western world's existing model of pharmaceutical innovation, which leads to the creation of monopolistic markets for novel, life-saving drugs that deliver high margins at low volumes.

Once you start succeeding, you start dreaming big. For me, it was that way.

My philanthropy is largely focused on healthcare, and I really want to make a difference to people's lives.

Pioneering companies always try out new things and experiment with new concepts and new things.

I think there's a certain paranoia about science because there is a certain risk related to science which people are very wary about, and therefore, there is an inherent risk aversion to science and technology or, at least, science and technology of unknown.

I have a great team who has helped me build Biocon, I was very fortunate to be able to share my vision with a group of people who really were as excited about challenges as I was.

Inherently, I have a social conscience which my late father inculcated in me. He was not exactly a very wealthy man, but he was very concerned about the underprivileged, about the people who didn't have equal opportunities.

My legacy is going to be in affordable health care. I am willing to invest in developing that model and the policies around it.

You have to build a culture of philanthropy. In a country like India, we need to be sensitive and caring about the poorer, more disadvantaged section of our country.

Design, art, and science are all a melange.

I am very concerned about the fact that India as a country does not have a national health system, and I am determined to try and influence the government to really build a national health system for the country.

My passion for innovation and my interest in the 'business of science' has seen Biocon commercialize many innovative platforms and products.

If you think about brewing, it is biotechnology. And I would say that I was a technologist at heart. So whether I... fermented beer or whether I fermented enzymes, the base technology was the same.

An entrepreneur's life is always a continuous journey.

I've had many failures in terms of technological... business... and even research failures. I really believe that entrepreneurship is about being able to face failure, manage failure and succeed after failing.

I want to be remembered as someone who put India on the scientific map of the world in terms of large innovation. I want to be remembered for making a difference to global healthcare. And I want to be remembered as someone who did make a difference to social economic development in India.

As you become more successful, the gender barrier disappears. The credibility challenges you have during your growing up years starts disappearing when you start demonstrating success.

I was greatly inspired by my late father, who was a well-known name in the brewing industry. It was he who encouraged me to take the road less traversed and gave me the confidence to pursue my path of entrepreneurship.

My father was a brew master. He was the one who I was very close to, he influenced me in many many ways including my pursuing a career as a brew master.

I belong to the breed of first-generation entrepreneurs who have basically created our enterprises with very frugal resources.

There is artistic beauty to the way biology functions, nature functions, and science functions. I am trying to bring that kind of understanding in the design space.

Biocon is on a journey of making impact on global healthcare. I have to make sure that I have one in five persons who needs insulin therapy to use a Biocon product - that is my dream.

As a traditionally risk-averse nation, India has rarely been at the forefront of innovation. Indian companies have mostly imitated others and became very good at it.