Ranbaxy R&D chief quits

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd today announced that its research and development head, Rajinder Kumar, had quit, becoming the second research chief to leave in a year. Kumar's predecessor, Rashmi Barbhaiya, had left the company in 2004 after a two-year stint with the company.

Talk of Kumar's exit had been doing the rounds for some time now but the company had steadfastly denied it all along. Kumar had joined Ranbaxy in July last year from GlaxoSmithKline.

Ranbaxy said in a statement that Kumar had left for the UK owing to "personal circumstances" and would be invited to join Ranbaxy's R&D advisory council.

Ranbaxy has seen a steady churn at the top ever since D.S. Brar quit as the managing director & CEO of the company in December 2003.

Several scientists have left Ranbaxy in the last few months to join other pharmaceutical companies. However, the company has claimed that it has strengthened its core team in the last one year.

The company also said that it has separated its R&D business into two sections, one for drug discovery and the other for generics, drug development and new drug delivery systems, headed by two people in order to focus better on each area.

Vijay Batra will lead the generics/NDDS/drug development research effort of the company. He is credited with having progressed the development of the anti-malaria molecule, RBX 11160 to Phase II clinical trials.

He has also worked on the development of the Ranbaxy Atorvastatin product. Having worked with the Schering Plough Research Institute, USA, for over twelve years, Batra has worked extensively in the area of pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism, a Ranbaxy release issued today said.

Kasim Mookhtiar will be in charge of the drug discovery division.

"We acknowledge the role that Rajinder Kumar has played in institutionalizing the R&D regimen, and in particular the clinical processes at Ranbaxy. The company continues to be on a strong footing in this area. The new structure is designed to bring into sharper focus, the unique needs of drug discovery and generics research, while emphasizing both equally," Ranbaxy CEO and managing director Brian Tempest was quoted in the release as saying.