Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Proposes Niece As Successor Of India’s Biopharma Major

Biocon founder and chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has proposed her niece as her successor. In a formal succession plan for the company, the 73-year-old matriarch has put forward the name of Claire Mazumdar, currently the chief executive officer of Bicara Therapeutics.

In an interview with Fortune India, Mazumdar-Shaw said that her niece has proved that she is capable of taking the reins of India’s biopharma major.

Mazumdar-Shaw founded Biocon over four decades ago and has no children. Her late husband, John Shaw, was vice chairman of the group.

“I am the sole owner of Biocon, and I need to make sure that I put it in good hands,” Mazumdar-Shaw told Fortune India.
“I have seen my niece Claire as my successor, because I think she has proved to me that she can run a company.”

While no date has been fixed for the 37-year-old Claire, she is expected to join the group in the future for a smooth transition.

In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), Mazumdar-Shaw said that she is not planning to hang up her boots soon and Claire will gradually transition into her role in time.

Claire is the chief executive of Nasdaq-listed Bicara Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company focused on treating cancer using bifunctional antibodies.

The company was incubated by Biocon and was listed on the US stock exchange in 2024, with a current market capitalisation of over $1.6 billion.

Her LinkedIn profile shows that she holds a Ph.D. in cancer biology and a management degree from Stanford University. She also has a degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in biological engineering.

Mazumdar-Shaw also outlined the roles of other family members who would support Biocon’s future, which she believes will be led by artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

Claire’s brother, Eric Mazumdar, a Caltech professor and AI expert, and her husband, Thomas Roberts, an oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, have also been named in the succession plan.