Pharmaceutical major Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd said on Wednesday it was focussed on employee safety and business continuity in and around Russia, despite many Western companies pulling out from the country in the recent days.
No Indian company has publicly withdrawn from Russia and the Central government has declined to condemn Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, despite pressure from the United States to do so. Western companies such as McDonald's, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Starbucks have stopped sales of their best-known products in Russia.
“We have had a presence in the region for over three decades,” a Dr. Reddy’s spokesperson said in an email.
“Ensuring the well-being of our staff is our first and foremost priority, along with measures to meet patient needs and business continuity. Overall, we are monitoring evolving developments closely and preparing accordingly.”
The company, however, declined to say if it would raise or scale back investments in Russia, which accounted for more than 8 per cent of its total sales of $2.47 billion (₹18,970 crore) in the last fiscal year that ended on March 31.
The company said in its annual report last year that its focus was on “scaling up in our major markets, which include Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa and Ukraine”.
Additionally, the company’s CEO, speaking at a health conference in January, had said Russia was a “very good market” for it and that it was buying brands there.