We have to be the best in class on quality and compliance: Lupin's Nilesh Gupta

Why the pharma company is looking to focus on innovation and specialty products

Published: Sep 11, 2024 02:14:02 PM IST

Updated: Sep 11, 2024 06:18:11 PM IST

Nilesh Gupta, managing director, Lupin

Global pharma leader Lupin has a robust pipeline lined up for FY25—over 25+ projects for injectables and over 15 products for respiratory products. With a turnover of Rs 200,108 million in FY24, Lupin has its presence in over 100 markets. Currently, is one of the largest generics companies globally, with a market cap of Rs 102,300 crore (as on September 11, 2024). Lupin has a diverse portfolio, including branded and generic formulations, complex generics, biotechnology products, and active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Over the last year, the brand has continued building its product portfolio. For instance, in June 2024, it announced the acquisition of two brands from Sanofi, Nalcrom in Europe and Aarane in Canada. Earlier, Lupin also grew its India portfolio with the strategic acquisition of diabetes brands Ondero and Ondero Met from Boehringer Ingelheim, and the acquisition of five brands from Menarini. The company, led by Vinita Gupta, CEO, and Nilesh Gupta, managing director, has also been diversifying with subsidiaries such as Lupin Diagnostics, Lupin Digital Health, and Lupin Manufacturing Solutions.

During the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance’s 9th edition of the Global Pharmaceutical Quality Summit 2024, Nilesh Gupta, spoke about the importance for quality, transparency and more. Edited excerpts:

On moving up the ladder

We earned the title of ‘pharmacy of the world’. This was built with hard work, dedication and on the foundation of science. We should do everything we can to protect this position we have created.

What we have done with simpler generics we are now doing with complex generics, both as an industry and as individual companies. This is not just a cost arbitrage opportunity; this is genuinely moving up the innovation ladder. The next step is to go even deeper on the innovation front to specialty products.

On vision for quality

We keep talking about moving in the right direction. But at some point, we just have to get there. We have to be best in class when it comes to quality and compliance. In addition to managing our own operations, there is this layer of governance that is needed on the entire supply chain. If we continue to keep patients at the centre of all we do, good sustainable quality is achievable.

On transparency

We manage very complex supply chains—there is complete visibility on the supply chain moving out of our operations. If someone picks up a bottle in the US or Europe that is made in India, they know where it came from, what batch it was made from and details of when the product was made. There is complete transparency.

The complexity that we deal with from a supply chain perspective is even more than what big pharma companies manage. We are constantly trying to de-risk and simplify, but what we do is complex. Technology has to play a big role in managing this technology. That being said, this is the world we live in, and we love it.