“The best is yet to come.” That was the message from Cipla doyen Yusuf K Hamied in his townhall address to employees across the world, to mark the company’s 80th anniversary.

Cipla has entered a dynamic phase in its growth, he said, outlining “six pillars” for the future — plants, products, partnerships, plans, passion and people. And this growth would also see the next generation of the Hamied family, with Samina Vaziralli (his niece) taking a hand to preserving the essence of the company.

For those following the company’s journey, Cipla’s “best” may have been in 2001, whenit rocked the pharma world by offering the HIV/AIDS three-in-one drug Triomune at less than a dollar a day, breaking the stranglehold of Big Pharma in South Africa. The combined international price of these drugs then was $12,000 per patient per year.

In fact, some health advocacy workers wonder if that assertive, even aggressive avatar of Cipla has given way to a more diplomatic company now.

Ask Hamied about the changing perception of the company his father KA Hamied started in pre-Independence India and why he feels the best is yet to come, he says the company is becoming more “global” these days.

Only this week, the ₹11,000-crore Cipla closed its acquisition of two US-based companies. And, it has been increasing its international footprint across Algeria, Brazil and Iran, he says.

Cannot afford monopoly “I cannot contribute in an area of monopoly,” says Hamied, explaining why Cipla has to focus outside India. In fact, he has been calling for a framework where drug-makers can partner with innovators to bring critical drugs to India, on payment of royalty to the innovator. This would help make these drugs less expensive.

“India cannot afford a monopoly in healthcare,” he says, adding that the prevailing environment ends up “pushing people like me to go overseas” where medicines get better prices.

India amended its patent regime in 2005 to honour product patents, following which generic companies were unable to make chemically-similar, or generic, versions of an innovative drug as long as it was patent protected.

For Hamied this is almost a déjà vu. His townhall speech recalled 1960, when he joined Cipla as an R&D officer. The “Made in India” label was not acceptable. “Every promising drug we wanted to manufacture in India was covered by patents, a monopoly granted to the innovator for a period of upto 20 years.”

This gave birth to the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association, the fight to change the patent law and the new Act that was passed in 1972, where product patents were abolished in three areas including health. Hamied says, the ensuing “golden era” for the indigenous industry allowed them to build manufacturing capabilities and become the pharmacy to the world.

Unfortunately in 2005, the amended Patents Act reintroduced product patents and backdated these to 1995, he says.

Patent issues This change had health groups worried that medicines would get pricier. These fears also resonated beyond Indian shores, where India had supplied inexpensive medicines. In India, companies battled over patents and the nuances in enforcing a patent still stirs up much debate.

Recently, though, a truce seems to have been called. Hepatitis C drug Sofosbuvir saw innovator Gilead partnering with a clutch of Indian companies, including Cipla, to make the drug and at lower prices. But industry watchers caution that the going is still tough and drug-makers will look to bail out. Hamied too is “very worried” about the Indian landscape.

“I will do anything for India... But the government should realise that the foundation of healthcare in the country is the indigenous industry… and a step-motherly treatment should not be meted out to the industry who are your backbone,” he says.

As it navigates these challenges, Cipla has seen its share of speculation on its future. Hamied, though, has nixed talk of selling the company with his “not in my lifetime” response.

Last month, Cipla created a management council headed by Subhanu Saxena, Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer, and including Samina, to streamline operations and spearhead growth.

This, even as nephew Kamil quit the company last year. Of his own role, the scientist-Chairman says, “My head is clear, my mind is clear and I read a lot to keep abreast with science.”

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