Biocon Brings Dr Vijay Kuchroo And Dr Jeremy Levin On Board

Further boosting investors’ confidence in the company, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw’s biotechnology major Biocon Ltd has appointed scientist and Nobel laureate Dr Vijay Kuchroo and industry veteran Dr Jeremy M Levin as the additional independent directors of the company.

Currently, Dr Kuchroo is the Samuel L Wasserstrom professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, senior scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital as well as the co-firector of the Center for Infection and Immunity, Brigham Research Institutes, Boston.

“I welcome Vijay to the Biocon board. As a member of Biocon’s Clinical Advisory Board, Vijay has been providing valuable inputs on the company’s R&D programs in auto-immunity. His scientific expertise in autoimmunity and oncology will help us as we seek to bring our R&D programs to patients globally,” said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman of Biocon Ltd.

On his appointment as the additional independent director, Dr Kuchroo said, “Biocon is a dynamic biopharmaceutical company with an eye on the future. The company’s research into innovative biologics – unique among Indian companies - has the potential to not only benefit patients in India, but also globally. Biocon is conducting interesting research in the field of autoimmune diseases and can play a crucial role in transforming the future of cancer and neurological diseases through its research in immunotherapy. A breakthrough will be particularly beneficial for India, which is seeing an increase in morbidities specifically in cancer.”

At present, Dr Kuchroo has 25 patents and serves on the scientific advisory boards of a large number of big pharmaceutical companies across the world. “As an advisor to Biocon, Dr Kuchroo has made significant contributions towards scientifically positioning Itolizumab developed by Biocon, as a potential novel therapeutic for autoimmune diseases,” added Shaw.

On the other hand, the company has successfully got award-winning business leader Dr Jeremy M Levin on its board. Dr Levin is considered to be among the top 25 influential people in the industry. Currently, he is the chairman of New York-based private company, Ovid Therapeutics Inc. He has previously served as the CEO of Teva Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies in the world.

Commenting on his appointment, Shaw said, “I welcome Jeremy to the Biocon board, he is an exceptional business leader with a deep understanding of the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. His expertise in leading companies, driving business development and company strategy to bring effective treatments to patients worldwide, augurs well for us. We look forward to his valuable contribution towards enabling Biocon make a strong impact on global health.”

It should be noted that with two of the most credible and distinguished personalities of the global healthcare industry on board, Biocon has reiterated its strong growth in the industry.

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