At the end of the day, every organisation needs to do what is in its best interest, says Dr Prakash Mody, Chairman of Unichem Laboratories, just minutes after the company announced the sale of its India and Nepal businesses to Torrent Pharma in a ₹3,600- crore transaction.
Founded in 1944 by the late Amrut Mody, Unichem is among the oldest companies in the Indian pharmaceutical sector. And Dr Mody insists that it is not as though he is exiting India nor is there a succession issue facing the company.
“This has nothing to do with that (succession), I am more than competent to do that (run the company),” he told
Unichem still has with it business worth ₹550 crore and about 2,000 people (of which 400 are just in research), he said. The company's formulation (finished medicines) plants still remain with the company (except the Sikkim plant) and it is free to market any product outside India, says Mody. Even with the emerging biosimilars segment, Unichem is free to market a product after the first right of refusal to Torrent, he added.
The decision to sell was essentially to support expansion and share benefits with shareholders, he said, adding that employees crossing over to Torrent would do so in conditions “not unfavourable” to them in terms of not having a break in service, he explained.
Unichem has several manufacturing facilities in India including at Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Gazhiabad (UP), Goa etc, that have approvals from various foreign regulators. Unichem's international footprint includes its businesses in the US and Europe, including its wholly-owned subsidiary in the UK — Niche Generics.