Champion of generics_Interview of Abhijit Mukherjee, Chief Operating Officer at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, India By the Medicine Maker
The Medicine Maker recently published an interview of Abhijit Mukherjee, Chief Operating Officer at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories. We bring the same for our readers.
How did your career
begin?
When I graduated from Engineering School in India during the
1980s, I didn’t have a specific career plan, but my family were keen for me to
get working. At the time, the job market was dominated by a few large
multinational companies – the main choices were either ICI or Unilever. I
joined the latter as a management trainee in a very technical job (working with
aroma chemicals and detergents), but it gave me the opportunity to work in
different countries. Unilever did not encourage superficial learning, but
rather the importance of going into the details. It was an important phase of
my career – the early days are always a key learning experience. And working
hard back then was always very much appreciated (not always the case today).
How did you transition
to a business role?
I’d always had a liking for numbers – even on the shop floor I
would attempt to connect any activity I was doing to a financial return.
However, jumping from a technical role to a business role in the 1990s was not
easy. Nevertheless, after around 13 years with Unilever, an opportunity
presented itself at a large, chemical conglomerate in India, where I was
involved with the business end-to-end – from manufacturing, to sales, to
dealing with banks and the collection of money. I ended up heading their bulk
chemical and intermediates business, before Dr. Reddy’s made me an offer in
2003 to join their management council as the Head of Custom Pharma business.
What was Dr. Reddy’s
like when you joined?
At the time, the business I took charge in Dr. Reddy’s was an
incubating business. Turnover was zero, but aspirations were high. I was
interested in the challenge and destiny was kind. The business grew fast
organically and with some quick acquisitions (in the UK and Mexico). I was also
given additional charge of the API business, which I ran for a while. I then
moved into the core business, eventually becoming the Chief Operating Officer
around three years ago.
What are your main
challenges in your current role?
The main challenges I face in my position are those which the
whole generics industry faces. One major headwind is the huge number of mergers
and acquisitions among pharmacy managers and retail chains in the US, which has
boosted their bargaining power and created pricing pressures for generics
manufacturers. The consolidation of channels has been a significant challenge
for us, especially considering that over 50 percent of our business is in the
US.
Another major challenge has been the increasing expectations
from regulators – both in the US and elsewhere. Exports from India have rapidly
increased in recent years and regulators have stepped up for valid reason to
ensure high standards. I think the entire industry – ourselves included – has
somewhat struggled to keep pace, but valuable lessons have been learned along
the way.
Finally, macroeconomic turmoil in emerging markets has hit
commodities hard. We have a fairly big presence in Russia, whose currency took
a major hit in recent years, as well as Ukraine, where the situation has been
even worse. But the good news is that those economies have stabilized more
recently and, after such a dip, you tend to see a solid four or five years of
growth ahead. I’m optimistic about emerging markets, particularly as we’ve
restructured and opened some new business avenues there. We’ve set ourselves in
good stead to capitalize on the current period of stability.
What makes you the
most proud about your work?
Dr. Reddy’s spends in the region of 12 to 14 percent of our
turnover on research and development. What really makes me proud is when those
passionate efforts generate societal benefits – especially in terms of access
to medicines in underserved markets. One specific example we are currently
working on is the creation of institutional businesses for oncology products in
emerging markets. Prices are high and access to oncology drugs is shockingly
low in emerging markets – not because the prevalence of the disease is much
lower than in the developing world, but because of issues around government
funding. We are currently playing a significant role in delivering oncology
medicines to patients in various countries across South America, Eastern Europe
and Asia.
If you could change
one thing about the pharma industry, what would it be?
Changing the perception of the generics industry would be at the
top of my wish list. I truly believe the generics industry is creating a great
deal of value in terms of accessible and affordable medicines, both in
developed countries and emerging markets. But the access to generic is a
constant barrier, especially in emerging markets. It’s an unspoken tragedy. By
changing perceptions and the image of the industry, we might tip the balance in
future, leaning in favor of generics industry – which I think would be of
benefit to patients.
The generics industry seems to go through highs and lows, and I
think it’s currently going through a bit of a low, but I keep telling people
that now is the time to be resilient and to have confidence in your values. If
we do that, I believe the next decade will be a more successful one.
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