Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, September 24, 2022
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Ltd. and Biocon Biologics Ltd., has been awarded the H.K. Firodia Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 for Excellence in Science & Technology by the H.K. Firodia Memorial Foundation on the 25th anniversary of the award.
The H.K. Firodia Awards Selection Committee unanimously decided to confer the Lifetime Achievement Award to Ms Mazumdar-Shaw for her “monumental contributions as a global leader in biotechnology innovation and entrepreneurship.”
On receiving the award, Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said: “I feel extremely privileged and humbled to be recognised for my lifetime efforts in building Biocon to be a responsible and empathetic biotech company that is driven by the purpose of delivering affordable access to essential medicines. As a scientist, I was inspired by the vision of creating an organisation that leverages science & technology to widen access to lifesaving drugs for patients on the lowest rung of the economic ladder. It is through our philosophy of affordable innovation that we have been able to make a difference to global health equity by ensuring that no patient anywhere in the world is denied essential and lifesaving biologic drugs on account of affordability.”
As the chief guest at the awards ceremony held in Pune, Ms Mazumdar-Shaw felicitated two more leading women in science. She presented the H.K. Firodia Vijnan Ratna Award to Dr Gagandeep Kang, eminent virologist and Professor of Microbiology in the Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences at the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore; and the H.K. Firodia Vijnan Bhushan Award to Dr. Tessy Thomas, distinguished scientist and Director General, Aeronautical Systems, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The Awards Selection Committee comprised of distinguished personalities like Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, Dr. Anil Kakodkar and Dr. Vijay Bhatkar.
The H.K. Firodia Award was instituted in 1996 in memory of the Late Shri H.K. Firodia, who is considered the doyen of the Indian automobile industry. The awards are given to eminent Indian scientists for their original and world-class contributions to any branch of science or technology. Former Indian President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was the first recipient of this award in 1996. Previous recipients of the H.K. Firodia Award include some of the most illustrious names in the field of Science & Technology in India, including Dr. M. K. Bhan, Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan, Dr. R. A. Mashelkar, Dr. Jayant Narlikar, Prof. C.N.R. Rao, Dr. K. Kasturirangan etc.
About Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a pioneering biotech entrepreneur, a healthcare visionary, a global influencer, and a passionate philanthropist. As founder of Biocon, an innovation-led global biopharmaceuticals enterprise, her vision and work have drawn global recognition both for Indian industry and her company.
The impact she has made as a leading woman in science has made her a role model globally. She is committed to equitable access to healthcare through affordable innovation as she pursues a path of making a difference to billions of lives globally. During the COVID-19 crisis, she has championed the cause of the healthcare industry in finding innovative solutions to combat the pandemic.
Her inspiring achievements have earned her several coveted titles and awards, both national and international. She has been recognized with two of India’s highest civilian honours, the Padma Shri (1989) and the Padma Bhushan (2005). She has been conferred with the Order of Australia, Australia’s highest civilian honour, in 2020 and appointed Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour in 2016. She was named EY World Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020. In 2014, she was honoured with the Othmer Gold Medal by the U.S.-based Chemical Heritage Foundation. The same year, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany, awarded her the Global Economy Prize.
Ms Mazumdar-Shaw holds key positions in various industry, educational, government and professional bodies. She was elected full-term member of the Board of Trustees of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), U.S., in 2018; a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, U.S., in 2019; and Member of the Board of Trustees, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, U.S. in 2021. She is also among the earliest Indian signatories to the Giving Pledge, a global commitment to dedicate majority of her wealth to philanthropy. Follow her on twitter: @kiranshaw
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