Biocon has earned the distinction of being the only Asian Biopharma Company to feature among the top biotechnology employers in the world as ranked by Science magazine. The ranking is a result of a global survey conducted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) through its affiliate Science magazine to determine which companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry have the best reputations as employers globally.

According to the comprehensive 2015 web-based survey of more than 5,700 respondents on 23 different attributes, Biocon has been recognized for three key attributes which are ‘Innovative leader in the industry,’ ‘Has loyal employees’ and ‘Is socially responsible’ and has been positioned at No. 13.

“We are delighted to achieve this global recognition, which is an outcome of our efforts to create an inspiring workplace built on a strong foundation of an innovation-led ecosystem that attracts the best global talent. We have invested in creating a culture that pursues excellence through learning and adopting global best practices. In doing so, we have successfully earned the reputation of being the most preferred biotech employer in Asia,” said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson and managing director, Biocon.

The Top 20 companies with the best reputations as employers were shortlisted from 181 global companies. The 2015 survey had respondents to rank the biggest advantages to working in the biopharma industry. Workers voted for ‘innovation’ as the first choice, followed by working with smart colleagues and excellent compensation and benefits the second and third preference respectively. Interestingly, workers ranked ‘having the funding and resources for research projects’ as the fourth choice.

The top 20 employers for 2015 are  Novozymes, (Bagsvaerd, Denmark),  Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Tarrytown, NY, US), Novo Nordisk (Bagsvaerd, Denmark), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Boston, MA, US), Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Cheshire, CT, US), Genentech (South San Francisco, CA, US), Moderna Therapeutics (Cambridge, MA, US), Roche—excluding Genentech (Basel, Switzerland), Monsanto Company (Creve Coeur, MO, US), AbbVie (North Chicago, IL, US), Eli Lilly and Company (Indianapolis, US), Celgene Corporation (Summit, NJ, US), Biocon (Bengaluru, India).

Abbott (Abbott Park, IL, United States), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Bayer (Leverkusen, Germany),  Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany), Biogen (Cambridge, MA, United States),  Gilead (Foster City, CA, United States),  Bristol-Myers Squibb (New York, NY, United States).

To arrive at the final list, The US-based Brighton Consulting Group and Cell Associates conducted a comprehensive, web-based survey of 181 companies which had over 5,700 respondents on 23 different attributes, including ‘Corporate Image,’ ‘Financial Prowess,’ ‘Leadership and Direction,’ ‘Work Culture/Environment,’ ‘Location’ and ‘Academic and Intellectual Challenge.’

Survey respondents from across the globe, were asked to select companies which they considered the ‘Best,’ ‘Average’ and ‘Worst’ employers. A mathematical process was used to determine the attributes with the greatest impact on company/employer reputation. Unique ranking scores were then derived from the ratings given to each company on these attributes.