INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - February 16^st - February 29^th - 2008

BIOCON BUYS MAJORITY STAKE IN AXICORP

India's premier biotechnology company, Biocon, has achieved a major breakthrough in Europe by acquiring a majority stake in AxiCorp Pharmaceuticals, a leading German company. Disclosing the deal at a joint news conference of the two companies in Frankfurt, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder and managing director of Biocon, said that her company took over a 70% stake in the company at a cost of € 30 million. It is a historic moment for Biocon, which has been quite successfully operating during the last 30 years, she said. The acquisition "heralds our foray into the European market." Mazumdar-Shaw left open whether Biocon will go in for a higher stake or will completely take over the company, which is located near Frankfurt and specialises in manufacturing and marketing a unique range of its own patent free medicines as well as low-cost drugs from European Union nations.