A seasoned pharmaceutical industry voice, known to be “respectful”, even in the face of adversity — Ranjit Shahani, former Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Novartis (India), passed away on Saturday.

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Shahani, 74, was Novartis’ India chief when the Swiss drugmaker fought a benchmark patent battle in the country, involving its blood cancer drug Glivec. Novartis lost the seven-year battle (to get patent protection for Glivec) in the Supreme Court (2013). But throughout the high-profile battle, where emotions ran high, Shahani remained almost unflappable, taking the punches, so to speak, on his chin.

“I don’t know if Glivec was the poster boy or I was,” Shahani had told businessline in a subsequent interaction, recollecting the global scrutiny, with his trademark dash of humour. Nevertheless, he admitted, “It was disappointing…I was involved every step of the way.”

Journalists who covered this landmark case will remember his willingness to explain Novartis’ standpoint — disagreeing with an article or viewpoint, but never being disrespectful. Phone calls were always answered, emails got responses and in over two decades of interacting with Shahani, there has never been a terse word or slammed phone. And the conversations were insightful, into an otherwise opaque pharmaceutical industry.

A self-confessed “night-owl”, hurried night calls to Shahani for a quick take on an industry controversy, were always treated to an ABBA song, that was often his ringtone.

Two battles

“He stood for the industry,” recalls Svetlana Pinto, who worked with Shahani for over a decade and was then the spokesperson for Novartis, during the Glivec case. A vocal advocate for an innovative ecosystem, Shahani walked the fine line of being an Indian helming a multinational company in India. “I fight two battles,” he had then said. One with “mandarins in Delhi” on liberalising policies and increasing investment in healthcare and the other, with Novartis urging them to invest in India despite the current climate. “We have to ensure that, competitively, we lay the red carpet, not the red tape,” he said. Krishna Sarma, Managing Partner of Corporate Law Group, says Shahani presented the innovation case “most convincingly” — be it to Indian or United States government officials.

Fake medicines was another subject close to his heart — “the perfect murder”, he called it, where the person died of the illness and evidence was lost.

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Shahani wore several hats, including President Emeritus of Organisation of Pharmaceuticals Producers of India (OPPI – a platform for multinational drugmakers) and Chairman of JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals.