- By Aditya Pratap Singh
- Wed, 06 May 2026 12:07 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Who Is Claire Mazumdar? Biocon founder and executive chairman Kiran Majumder-Shaw, a 73-year-old biotechnology entrepreneur who has crafted a succession plan for India’s leading biotech firm, confirmed reports about Biocon’s succession plans and the selection of her daughter-in-law Claire as heir apparent in a post on AXE.
Who Is Claire Mazumdar?
Claire Majumdar, 37, the daughter of Majumdar-Shah's brother Ravi Majumdar, founded Boston-based Bicara Therapeutics in 2018 -- a clinical-stage cancer therapy company. She led it to a Nasdaq listing in 2024.
Claire holds a degree in biological engineering from MIT and an MBA and PhD in cancer biology from Stanford University.
Both of her parents are computer science professors in the United States. Her brother Eric is a professor and AI expert at the California Institute of Technology.
Claire Majumder is a biotech expert and the founding CEO of Bicara Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology firm incubated by Biocon. In 2024, she led the company from its inception to its Nasdaq listing, increasing its valuation to over $800 million at its debut and increasing its market cap to over $1.6 billion.
Ravi Majumdar is a non-executive director at Biocon.
Succession Is Not Happening Soon
However, Kiran made it clear that the succession will not happen anytime soon.
"Not planning to hang up my boots for a while! Claire will gradually transition into my role in time," Mazumdar-Shaw wrote in a post.
Majumdar-Shah, the face of the Indian biotechnology industry, founded Biocon in a garage in Bengaluru in 1978 with Rs 10,000 and grew it into India's largest biotechnology company over four decades.
Kiran Married To John Shaw
Kiran married Scotsman John Shaw in 1998. John Shah, who died of cancer in 2022, was Biocon’s vice chairman and non-executive director and the company’s overseas promoter.
By appointing Claire as his successor, Majumdar-Shah, who is the sole promoter of Biocon, said he wanted to ensure that the company was in good hands.
On why he saw Claire as his successor, Majumdar-Shah said his daughter-in-law had proven that she could run a company. Biocon, built by a woman for four decades, will be led by another woman, with the power shifting from aunt to daughter-in-law.