India’s pharmaceutical industry used the opportunities created by liberalisation to build globally competitive capabilities in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), formulations, generics and biosimilars. The industry’s next major pivot must be towards innovation, says Satish Reddy, chairman of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. In a video interview with Sohini Das, Reddy discusses the company’s early international ambitions, the impact of the 1991 reforms, India’s loss of API leadership to China, and the policy framework needed to support drug discovery. Edited excerpts:
What was your experience of the reforms of 1991?
I returned from the US in December 1990 after completing my education. Things changed quickly. In early 1993, a team from research and development (R&D) — which was literally the heart of the company then — left. My father, Dr Anji Reddy, put me straight into the thick of things to restore order. That is how I moved into an operating role.
Source : Business-standard
