BWI: Biocon Explores Investment in Malaysia in Partnership with Biotechcorp

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Biocon Limited
Friday, January 22, 2010 02:23 PM IST (08:53 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Business services, Healthcare, biotechnology & pharmaceutical; Healthcare
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Biocon Explores Investment in Malaysia in Partnership with Biotechcorp


Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Friday, January 22, 2010 -- (Business Wire India) -- Biocon Limited today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysia's Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp) to explore collaboration and potential investment in Malaysia's biotechnology industry.

Biocon is in talks with BiotechCorp to manufacture Biopharmaceutical products and formulation, within Malaysia's Nusajaya, Iskandar Malaysia, called the Bio-XCell Ecosystem. Biocon is also developing biotechnology infrastructure in the Bio-XCell Ecosystem Project.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon said, "Biocon is keen to explore Malaysia as a destination for our expansion. Malaysia and the Bio-XCell Ecosystem in Iskandar Malaysia are attractive propositions. We are interested in learning how we can leverage this offering with our commercial plans and look forward to formalizing our engagement with BiotechCorp further".

"This is evidence that Malaysia's value proposition in biotechnology remains fundamentally strong even in the current challenging times. Biocon is India's first biotech company and Asia's largest publicly-listed biopharma company with a current market cap of a little over USD 1.2 billion. It is encouraging that they are taking a positive view of Malaysia as a rapidly developing biotech hub. Additionally, with the development of the Bio-XCell Ecosystem we are now able to offer a comprehensive support infrastructure, as well as the required supply of knowledge workers, favorable environment, and provision of related services," said Dato' Iskandar Mizal Mahmood, Chief Executive Officer, BiotechCorp.

The collaboration while giving Biocon a conducive ecosystem to further its biopharmaceutical activities; will also enable the transfer of knowledge to Malaysia's human capital, create employment and knowledge workers, and directly benefit the growth of similar local industry.

About Biocon Limited

Established in 1978, Biocon Limited (BSE code: 532523, NSE Id: BIOCON, ISIN Id: INE376G01013) is India's largest biotechnology company by revenue. The Group, promoted by Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, is a fully-integrated, innovation-driven healthcare enterprise with strategic focus on biopharmaceuticals and research services. Biocon's value chain traverses the entire length of discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics. With successful initiatives in clinical development, bio-processing and global marketing, Biocon delivers products and solutions to partners and customers in approximately 75 countries across the globe. Many of these products have USFDA and EMEA acceptance. Biocon's robust product offering includes the world's first recombinant human insulin, INSUGEN® and India's first indigenously produced monoclonal antibody BIOMAb-EGFR(TM). For more information Visit us at www.biocon.com

About BiotechCorp

BiotechCorp is the lead development agency for the biotech industry in Malaysia and acts as a central contact point providing support, facilitation and advisory services for biotech and life sciences companies in Malaysia.

Since its establishment in 2005, BiotechCorp has played a key role in building the biotech business in Malaysia. To date, BiotechCorp has facilitated the development of 135 BioNexus status companies in Malaysia with a total approved investment of US$444 million (RM1.51 billion). BioNexus status companies are international and Malaysian biotech companies which qualify for fiscal incentives, grants and guarantees administered by BiotechCorp. For further details, log on to www.biotechcorp.com.my.

Collaboration between Biocon Limited and BiotechCorp

BIOCON is a research-driven, global healthcare company with a strong matrix of capabilities along the biopharmaceutical value chain and is focused on the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products for various medical needs, including cancer, diabetes and inflammatory diseases.

The collaboration with BiotechCorp is to explore the possibility of BIOCON manufacturing Biopharmaceutical products and formulations within the Bio-XCell Ecosystem Project in the Iskandar Development Region in Johor, Malaysia.


CONTACT DETAILS
Paula Sengupta, Biocon Limited, +91 (80) 28082222, paula.sengupta@biocon.comZ
Varija Belliappa, Biocon Limited, +91 (80) 28082223, varijabelliappa@biocon.com
Seema Rajarathnam, GM South - PR, Rediffusion Y&R PR, +91 (80) 23361567, seema.rajarathnam@rediffusionyr.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, HEALTHCARE, HEALTHCARE, BIOCON.NS

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