While states like Maharashtra were enjoying the privilege of hosting key big domestic and international pharma companies, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, in the adjacent state of Gujarat, was growing steadily and made inroads into the league of big pharma companies in India. Today, Cadila is one of the largest privately held pharma companies in India, headquartered in Ahmedabad. Over the last five decades, the company has been developing and manufacturing pharma products in India and selling and distributing these in over 90 countries around the world.
Medicine man of Gujarat
Modi’s journey from bicycle to Rolls Royce is an example of sheer self belief and hard work. The post independence era was not at all conducive for indigenous medicine manufacturers. Medicine production was considered the monopoly of European countries. However, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough gets going,’ goes an old saying. Modi dared to foray into this industry with a small pharma unit, namely ‘Cadila Laboratories,’ way back in 1951. The idea to manufacture medicines germinated in Modi’s mind while he was pursuing higher studies at Bombay University where his chosen area of study was pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals.
Modi inspired many young technocrats to follow the same path, which ultimately paved the way for self-reliance of the Indian pharma industry. His small but entrepreneurial venture and vision drastically transformed the scenario of the pharma industry.
Business is a thing, not everything
Not just the growth of his organisation but also the well being of human beings remained focus areas for Modi as a business person and as a leader, throughout his life.
J P Parswani Executive Director, Cadila Pharmaceuticals |
“Indravadan Modi was a very simple and down-to- earth man. He used to go on bicycle from doctor to doctor to sell medicines. He knew what it takes to become big and exceptional. For him, business mattered but the patient and his sufferings mattered the most. He built the company’s overseas plant in a country like Ethiopia, as he felt that people from this region needed quality healthcare more than people from European countries,” reveals J P Parswani, Executive Director, Cadila Pharmaceuticals.
He adds, “Modi was a true patriot as well. We have facility in Jammu, in the Samba region. This region is unfortunately sometimes targeted by terrorists but such activities did not deter Modi from continuing our operations over there. In fact he decided to expand our operations. He was of the belief that if youngsters from terror affected regions get jobs, they would not turn to terrorism.”
Manufacturing facilities
| API unit, Ankleshwar |
The business that once started with a small pharma unit has now flourished into many highly advanced manufacturing facilities in India and abroad. All the facilities have all the necessary regulatory certifications. The company has state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities conforming to the most stringent international cGMP norms vis-à-vis WHO-GMP, WHO, Geneva (GDF site for Anti- TB), TGA Australia Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation Scheme (PIC/S), US FDA, UK-MHRA, MCC-South Africa, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. No wonder, Cadila’s products enjoy a good market all over the world. The company has manufacturing facilities at Dholka, Ankleshwar, Kadi, Samba (Jammu) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).
| Manufacturing facility, Dholka | Birdseye view of manufacturing facility, Dholka |
The company’s two Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) units at Ankleshwar manufacture a wide-range of APIs and intermediates including US FDA certified products. Unit-I is spread over 42,000 sq. mtrs. The API manufacturing facility of Cadila Pharma group at Ankleshwar encompasses one of the highest capacities in India to produce loratadine (anti-histaminic), glibenclamide (anti-diabetic) and chloro hexidine base (disinfectant). The ethambutol and the fluoxetine plants at Cadila Pharma, Ankleshwar, are approved by US FDA. Fluoxetine is an anti-depressant and Cadila Pharma has a capacity to produce 5000 kgs/month at its Ankleshwar unit. “The US FDA approval to Cadila Pharma has come without any 483 comments, which shows the competency of the group in its facilities, documentations etc.,” says a proud Parswani. The manufacturing facility at Samba, near Jammu, started its commercial operations in August 2006. Cadila has also set up its first ever overseas formulation manufacturing facility in Ethiopia.
| Manufacturing facility, Ethiopia |
The company also has significant presence in plant tissue culture, bio-formulations and bio-fertilisers, with one of the largest production facilities in India for plant tissue culture. The division was started in 1992 with a plant tissue culture laboratory and commercial production of bio-fertilisers. Today the agro division specialises in tissue cultured banana, potato, lily bulb, foliage, pointed gourd, teak, sugarcane and seed raised papaya plants as planting material for farmers. The Cadila agro-division today is one of Asia’s most reputed and preferred companies when it comes to production and supply of quality bio-formulation based on Mycorrhiza and Aspergillus niger. The company also specialises in common liquid growth promoter based on gelatin derived amino acid, humic acid, multi activity growth promoter etc.
In the quest of innovation
| Manufacturing facility, Jammu |
Cadila believes in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for developing diagnostic, preventive and curative pharma and diagnostic products. Innovations that have resulted from such partnerships include ‘Immuvac’, a unique immuno-modulator that has various applications including reducing duration of therapy for treatment of multi drug resistant tuberculosis and multibacillary leprosy, ‘NEVA’- a rapid HIV detection kit and more recently Risorine, worlds first boosted-Rifampicin containing fixed-dose combination for use as an anti-tubercular drug.
“Cadila emerged on the world map in 2009 with the development of Polycap, a novel and world’s first drug combination for prevention of cardiovascular diseases,” says Parswani.
Looking at the future for biotech based products, Cadila has also prepared a plan to add two biotech products every year. Parswani informs, “In terms of biotech products commercialised by any company in Gujarat, Cadila has the highest numbers to its credit.”
As far as R&D is concerned the company has a multi-disciplinary workforce with skill sets from biology, pharmacology, clinical research, chemistry, toxicology, phytochemistry and different disciplines of engineering. Cadila has the unique of distinction of becoming the first company to get an Investigational New Drug (IND) approval by US FDA for clinical trials to be conducted in India.
Joint ventures
Cadila has also entered into some key strategic alliances. CPL Biologicals is a joint venture (JV) with Novavax-US, to develop and manufacture vaccines, biological therapeutics and diagnostics in India. CPL Biologicals has established manufacturing facilities in India to develop, produce and sell products such as seasonal influenza vaccine and potentially other novel vaccines against dengue fever and chikungunya fever based on Novavax’s Virus Like Particle (VLP) vaccine technology. “With VLP vaccine technology vaccine production can be increased many times. We are the only company in India that uses VLP,” Parswani points out.
StemCyte India, which is into umblical cord blood stem cells banking and research is a JV of Cadila with StemCyte, US and Apollo Hospital Group. Cadila also has a JV with Apollo Hospital Group to manage Apollo Hospital, Ahmedabad. More recently, Cadila entered into a strategic alliance with the Swedish Bactiguard which provides world leading solutions preventing hospital acquired infections.
Cadila’s current turnover is more than Rs 1000 crore. Within the next five years the company intends to cross the Rs 3000 crore milestone. Cadila would focus on taking its products to every possible part of India. As the Cadila management believes in ethically backed business, while providing quality medicines, efforts will also be put to keep them affordable. Modi’s great work has put on a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of his son, Dr Rajiv Modi. However, company employees who are already familiar with Rajiv’s leadership skills, strongly feel that company would rise to even greater heights under his leadership.