Mazumdar-Shaw’s bold biotech mission: Affordable, accessible healthcare

About this episode

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw discusses her journey in building a successful biotech company in Asia amidst various challenges.

Biotech entrepreneurs across Asia are navigating funding gaps, weak innovation ecosystems, and unpredictable regulatory systems. For many, these challenges make it difficult to scale science-led businesses and deliver affordable healthcare solutions. In this episode, host Gautam Kumra, Chairman of McKinsey Asia, sits down with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Founder & Chairperson, Biocon Group. They discuss how she overcame a lack of funding, limited infrastructure, and regulatory hurdles to build one of Asia’s first and most successful biotech companies — pioneering affordable biosimilars, shaping biotech policy in India, and scaling purpose-driven innovation from the ground up. The episode also features McKinsey partner Cheryl SH Lim, and Director of Learning, CEO Institute, Jennifer Chiang. See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

People in this episode

Host: Gautam Kumra

Guests: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Cheryl SH Lim, Jennifer Chiang

Topics covered

• biotech
• healthcare
• innovation
• regulatory systems

Keywords

• biotech policy
• innovation ecosystems
• affordable healthcare
• biosimilars

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Biocon Group

Places: Asia, India

More episodes of McKinsey Future of Asia

• Advancing climate adaptation in Asia: Protecting people, protecting growth · May 22, 2026 · 19 min
• How foreign direct investment is shaping future business · March 20, 2026 · 28 min
• Leading a metabolic health revolution in Asia · November 27, 2025 · 20 min
• Respect above all: Narayana Murthy’s core business belief · October 15, 2025 · 22 min
• Exploring the frontier: Technology trends in Asia · October 6, 2025 · 28 min
• Propelling Indonesia's productivity: Reaching high income by 2045 · August 15, 2025 · 28 min