Bangalore, India: January 24, 2013

Biocon, Asia's leading biotechnology enterprise announced today that the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has named Biocon Chairman & Managing Director and founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw to its Board of Trustees. A biotechnology entrepreneur and executive with global standing, Shaw will help guide USP’s policies, finances and strategic direction as a member of the Board. In addition to her role on USP’s Board of Trustees, Shaw will serve as a member of the USP Biologics Advisory Group.

USP is a scientific nonprofit organization that develops standards for the identity, strength, quality and purity of medicines, medicinal ingredients, botanical medicinal ingredients, dietary supplements, food ingredients, and compounded medicines manufactured, prepared, distributed and consumed worldwide. Headquartered in the United States, USP operates facilities with laboratory and customer support operations in Brazil, India and China, with a sales office in Switzerland.

“As a businesswoman, public health advocate and philanthropist, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has innovated and campaigned tirelessly for affordable medications on behalf of patients in India and worldwide for decades,” said Dr. Roger L. Williams, Chief Executive Officer of USP. “We are honored to have her serve on USP’s Board of Trustees, where her leadership and expertise will be utilized to help guide the organization as it advances its mission to improve the health of people around the world through public standards and related programs that help ensure the quality, safety, and benefit of medicines and foods.”

Shaw is the second non-U.S. member of the USP Board of Trustees. The first was Dr. Judith Oulton, who served on the USP Board of Trustees in the 2005–2010 cycle. Shaw is honored in this cycle as being an appointed member of the Board, which is allowed for three distinguished members of the professional community by virtue of changes to USP’s By-laws that occurred at the 2010 Convention. The decision to seek Shaw was made by the USP Board’s Governance Committee, chaired by Dr. Marilyn Speedie, and endorsed unanimously by the USP Board.

Under her stewardship Biocon has evolved into India’s largest biotech company committed to innovation and affordability to deliver world class therapeutics to the patients across the globe.

A pioneer of the biotechnology industry in India, Ms. Shaw, has made her country proud with a globally recognized bio-pharma enterprise-Biocon. 

About Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Ms Kiran Mazumdar -Shaw  chairs the Government of Karnataka's Vision Group on Biotechnology and serves as a member of various governmental, scientific, business and academic advisory groups, including the Advisory Council of the Government’s Department of Biotechnology in India, the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade & Industry in India, the U.S.-India CEO Forum, the governing and general bodies of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, the India Advisory Board for the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and the honorary Board of Advisors of The National Society of High School Scholars, USA. She also serves on the Global Advisory Committee for Earth Day Network’s “Women and the Green Economy” (WAGE™) campaign that engages female business, government and NGO leaders to help create and develop a global green economy.

Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Economic Times “Businesswoman of the Year,” the Veuve Clicquot Initiative for Economic Development Award for Asia, Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences & Healthcare, “Technology Pioneer” recognition by World Economic Forum, Nikkei Asia Prize  for regional growth and the Indian Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award. She has received two national awards in India—PADMASHRI (1989) and PADMA BHUSHAN (2005)—which were presented to her by the President of India for her efforts in industrial biotechnology.

Shaw received a graduate honors degree in zoology from Bangalore University (1973) and qualified as a master brewer from Ballarat University, Australia (1975). She also holds honorary doctorates from Ballarat University, the University of Abertay, Dundee, U.K. (2007), the University of Glasgow, U.K. (2008), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, U.K. (2008), the National University of Ireland (2012) and Trinity college, Dublin (2012).

About USP – Advancing Public Health Since 1820
The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is a scientific, nonprofit, standards-setting organization that advances public health through public standards and related programs that help ensure the quality, safety, and benefit of medicines and foods.  USP’s standards are relied upon and used worldwide. For more information about USP visit http://www.usp.org.