Biocon’s Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has been named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020, becoming the third Indian to win the title. Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Narayana Murthy of Infosys are the other title winners from India.

Shaw was picked from among 46 award winners from 41 countries and territories vying for the global title.

“At its core, entrepreneurship is about solving problems. The greatest opportunities often arise at the toughest times, and that’s been my experience throughout my entrepreneurial journey. My business focus is global health care and the provision of universal access to life-saving medicine; however, my responsibility as an entrepreneur is greater than simply delivering value to shareholders,” said Shaw on winning the award.

“I feel so humbled and proud that I won it for my colleagues and my country,” she tweeted on Friday.

The Bengaluru-based company, founded in 1978 with $500, has now a market capitalisation of over $4 billion.

In its fight against Covid-19, Biocon’s research arm Syngene, which has developed Elisa antibody test kits for Covid-19, has tied up with biosciences HiMedia Laboratories for manufacturing and distribution of the kits. While the biopharmaceutical major recently got DCGI approval to use CytoSorb device for treatment of Covid-19 patients, it has received the regulatory nod to repurpose its psoriasis drug Itolizumab to treat the virus in moderate to severe patients.

“Right now, the world is looking for solutions to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2 and treat patients with Covid-19. As the founder of a global biopharmaceutical company, I am contributing to worldwide efforts to tackle Covid-19 through innovative science,” said Shaw.

EY, in its felicitation, said Shaw had been at the forefront of innovation through her strong investments in research.