Cipla betting big on digitisation and emerging segments like mRNA

Drug major Cipla is betting big on digitisation and emerging segments like biosimilars and mRNA aided medications to drive its next phase of growth.

The Mumbai-based drug maker is also bullish on maximising value opportunity in the complex generics in the US market.

It is also looking to scale up its US core formulations sales on the back of respiratory and peptide franchises while monitoring upcoming complex product launches in the second half of the current fiscal.

"Digitalisation in healthcare found its rightful place during the pandemic, and there is a need to expand and support the essential backup services to enable digital healthcare to function efficiently in all primary and secondary healthcare centres," Cipla Executive Vice-Chairperson Samina Hamied said in the company's Annual Report for 2021-22.

The drug firm has embarked on the digital transformation of the value chain across functions, including finance, R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, HR, customer outreach and stakeholder engagement, she added.

Over the past few years, the company has set up several foundational elements to drive the digitisation and automation plans right from adopting latest trends to transform patient reach and customer care via digitalisation, Hamied stated.

"We have also been reimagining field force engagements with health care professionals (HCPs) in global markets through virtual knowledge sharing platforms. Our aspiration is to create plants of the future in a digitally native organisation, that will transform the lives of our people and all our stakeholders," she noted.

It is time for the industry to take note of advanced tools and emerging technologies powered by advanced analytics, robotics and automation that have the potential to revolutionise every element of pharma manufacturing within the next few years, Hamied said.

"Going forward all our growth engines will be fueled by our digital transformation initiatives," Cipla Managing Director and Global CEO Umang Vohra noted.

Elaborating further, he said that it would be important to watch out for the innovative trends in healthcare that are bringing about a paradigm shiftbe it mRNA technology, vaccines with DNA sub-units or the technology around some of the antibodies and cancer reversal.

Besides, the company would also ensure that within respiratory therapy, it has a robust range of offerings comprising innovative drug-device combinations and even bio-drugs that are gaining steam in the US, Vohra said.

"We will ensure steadfast rigour in our respiratory filings and new launches and maintain market beating growth," he added.

He noted that the company is passionate about building a strong global wellness franchise and are working towards identifying more brands with high consumer potential across India and South Africa.

"We will continue our execution on branded market portfolio including peptides, brand building and improvement in manpower productivity across markets," Vohra stated.

Cipla, the country's third largest drug maker, has 47 manufacturing sites around the world which cater to around 86 markets across the globe.