| Born on February 18, 1926, at Hansot village in Bharuch district of Gujarat, Modi obtained his bachelor's degree in science from Baroda College in 1948. |
| Thereafter, he specialised in technology in pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals from the Bombay University. |
| Modi spoke to Business Standard about the future of domestic pharma industry under the new patents regime, emerging trends and growth plans of Cipla. Excerpts: |
| What will be the fate of the Indian pharmaceutical industry under the patents regime postJanuary 1, 2005? |
| Post-January 2005, domestic pharmaceutical companies with a strong research and development (R&D) base will not only survive but will play a major global role. |
| It is true that only large pharma firms have either the fund or the expertise to invest in R&D. |
| What will happen to thousands of medium and small scale pharmaceutical companies across the country? |
| The medium and small pharma units will mostly be into B2 product manufacturing. |
| They will also play a key role in contract manufacturing, where larger pharma firms will outsource manufacturing of certain drugs to these companies. I do not think that medium and small units will face any survival problems after January 1, 2005. |
| A recent trend being noticed is that pharmaceutical companies are moving out of Gujarat in droves to states where tax sops are being offered. Does CPL have any such plan? |
| That is happening and this trend will definitely harm Gujarat's status as pharma centre. But these pharmaceutical companies are being left with no choice. |
| It is almost a compulsion for them to move out and set up units in areas where tax sops are available. If these were offered in Gujarat, no one would want to go. Yes, CPL is looking at such an option, but it would be too early to provide any more details. |
| CPL has just filed a patent for the intravenous form of the Rabeprazole molecule. What next? |
| Patent filing will be the key in the post-2005 era. With a very strong R&D backing, CPL will shortly announce patents for at least three more drugs. These will be in the fields of AIDS control, oncology and tuberculosis care. |
| With a reach to over 40 countries, CPL will then be able to leverage growth from sale of these patented drugs, that will be marketed by other overseas companies on a licence basis. |
| What new is being developed by your research scientists? |
| In the next five to seven years, Cadila Pharma should be in a position to provide new molecules not only in India, but across the world. |
| Even the intravenous form of the Rabeprazole molecule was developed by our scientists in just three years of research work. |
| The company has already reached a turnover of over Rs 600 crore. What growth plans have you set for the company? Any plan to go public? |
| The company will definitely cross the Rs 1,000 crore turnover mark in the next three years. The foundation for a robust growth has already been laid and the group has spread its presence in many countries and across various fields. |
| Yes, the company will definitely go public, but it could be five or six years from now. At the moment, we are generating adequate funds. |
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