Biocon's Biosimilar Business Set For Strong Growth: CEO Shreehas Tambe

Biocon Ltd's biosimilar arm surpassed its goal of becoming a billion-dollar revenue company by March 2024, buoyed by its fourth-quarter earnings, said Shreehas Tambe, chief executive officer and managing director of Biocon Biologics Ltd.

Net profit of the Bengaluru-headquartered company fell 46% year-on-year to Rs 223 crore. Yet, it surpassed analysts’ estimates. Revenue rose 3.8% to Rs 3,917 crore.

“All the financial metrics are signalling in the right direction,” Tambe told NDTV Profit in an interview, in which he spoke about executing the company’s “foundational strategy”. “This is the first full quarter since we completed the acquisition (of Viatris’ biosimilars business) and Biocon Biologics is running the business.”

Tambe attributed Biosimilar's success to a higher share in the US, Europe and emerging markets.

"As Biocon's business grows, R&D expenses will fluctuate, but Biocon Biologics has consistently maintained R&D spending around 10% annually,” he said. “So, we stayed (within) the range."

“Quarterly variations occur due to development phases, but with rising revenues, R&D expenses are expected to remain within the 8-10% range,” he said, adding that it ranges at 8-9% currently.

Funding for Biocon Biologics Ltd., the biosimilars arm of Biocon, has always been strong, he said.

“It’s about making sure that we have the right set of investors, right alignment on what we want to do,” he said. “We have taken a very measured approach in how we want to bring in more equity within.”

Biocon expects high growth in the next few quarters, he said, adding it could be in single or double digits.

"One of the key things that you have to look at is all our product market shares have grown and they continue to grow in a very strong manner," he said. "So, we believe with (our) existing products in a very strong mode and new products to be launched, which is very eminent once the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) comes and approves the products."

Biocon Biologics acquiring Viatris’ biosimilars business late last year, according to Tambe, made it a fully integrated global player with a presence in 120 countries.

“It's not merely an acquisition, it has altered our approach to conducting business,” he said. “We’re convinced that integration is the key to success, and this belief has been evident in our market share figures.”