Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Ltd, has flagged structural gaps in India’s biotech ecosystem, warning that weak venture funding, regulatory bottlenecks, and the absence of viable exit avenues are pushing high-value innovation out of the country.
Speaking about the sector’s evolution, Mazumdar-Shaw said India continues to face challenges in supporting clinical-stage innovation, a phase where companies are typically pre-revenue but require sustained capital. The long development cycle from lab to market, she noted, makes it harder to attract investors without well-defined pathways for exits.
She pointed to the need for deeper venture capital participation, more enabling listing frameworks, and regulatory clarity to support innovation at scale. In more mature markets such as the US, clinical-stage biotech firms are able to access capital markets earlier, creating liquidity for investors and supporting long-term research.
China’s role
China, too, has emerged as a significant pharmaceutical innovator, accounting for roughly 20–25 per cent of new drug research and development and about 46 per cent of novel molecules entering human trials in early 2025, according to a Goldman Sachs report, supported by strong state backing and faster clinical execution.
The consequence, she said, is a steady migration of innovation. Citing examples, Shaw highlighted how India-developed science is increasingly being commercialised overseas to tap better funding ecosystems and market recognition.
However, Shaw stressed that individual company success cannot substitute for systemic reform. Without policy changes that enable risk capital, streamline regulatory pathways, and create credible exit mechanisms, India risks missing out on building a globally competitive biotech innovation engine.
“If we create the right ecosystem, innovation itself can become an enormous value driver for India,” she said, underlining that the country has no shortage of scientific capability, only the enabling environment to fully realise it.