At a recent event, the co-chairman and managing director of Dr Reddy's Laboratories spoke about patient centricity in the health care industry, the enabling power of technology, and how the Indian pharma industry is not celebrated enough
GV Prasad, co-chairman and managing director of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories; Image: Harsha Vadlamani for Forbes India
Recently pharma giant Dr Reddy’s announced it will be acquiring the entire nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) business of British consumer health care company Haleon. This will include the global brand Nicotinell and its local market-leading brand names Nicabate, Habitrol and Thrive in markets outside of the United States.
This is in line with Dr Reddy’s strategy to increase its presence in consumer health care—nutrition and over-the-counter (OTC) wellness—markets around the world, including the US, UK, emerging markets and India. In April 2024, the company also announced a joint venture with Nestle India, to bring innovative nutraceutical brands to consumers in India.
With a market capitalisation of Rs 106,003 (as on July 2, 2024), Dr Reddy’s is one of the largest Indian pharmaceutical companies. It clocked a turnover of Rs 27,916 crore in FY24. Dr Reddy’s continues to focus on its core business of generics, branded generics, API, OTC, and biosimilars. Alongside, the company has also been investing in growth drivers of the future: Access to novel molecules; digital therapeutics and consumer health care.
In a rare public appearance, GV Prasad, co-chairman and managing director of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, was present at the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance’s 9th edition of the Global Pharmaceutical Quality Summit 2024. During a panel discussion at the event, he spoke about the importance of quality, technology disrupting the industry and more. Edited excerpts:
We talk about regulatory compliance, regulation, inspections, but that's not what quality is about. Quality is about the patient's safety, the efficacy and purity of the product. It should be something of an absolute. If a small dosage can cure you, a small impurity can also harm you. So, it’s necessary to embrace patient centricity in quality, and design your systems around that.