Ahmedabad, 26 November 2012

The Pharmaceutical industry in India has gone a pretty long way since independence; The country has emerged as a preferred destination for manufacturing of affordable and quality medicines, and related services.

But the scene was quite different in post independence era. The development and manufacturing of medicines was considered to be the monopoly of a few multinational Pharma giants. The myth had it that “Indians cannot produce quality medicines”. Even Doctors did not prefer prescribing medicines produced by an Indian company.

In such a scenario, Shri Indravadan Modi dared to foray into this industry with a small pharmaceutical unit, namely ‘Cadila Laboratories’, way back in 1951 with a steely determination to bring change in the mindset as well as in the healthcare management of Indian population. Having inspired many young technocrats to start industry which ultimately paved the way for self-reliance of Indian Pharmaceutical industry, his small but entrepreneurial venture drastically transformed the scenario of the Pharmaceutical industry. Even today at a ripe old age of 87, this doyen of Indian Pharmaceutical industry, Shri I. A.

Modi is highly active and continues to contribute to the industry. The world’s first innovative medicines, namely ‘Polycap’ for prevention of heart diseases and stroke and ‘Risorine’ for the treatment of Tuberculosis (TB) introduced recently have created waves of vibrancy throughout world Pharmaceutical industry. These ‘truly Indian’ products have raised a new hope in the management of respective diseases among medical fraternity.

Here is the in depth profile of Shri I.A Modi which shows his multi disciplinary contribution in all strata of the society.

The Cast of an Individual and His Enterprise

At the dawn of Independence in 1947, the Indian industrial scene was dominated by multinationals and a few large Indian business houses.

The major Industries were Steel, Jute and Cotton textiles, Cement, Paper, and Sugar. Pharmaceutical Industry was still not part of this big league in which the large Indian business houses had a strong presence. But the scenario underwent a dramatic transformation with the emergence of a new breed of young and enterprising Indian Entrepreneurs who cashing in on the window of opportunities that opened up after independence, significantly contributed to the diversification of India’s Industrial base.

Their success was remarkable because they accomplished what they set out to do despite odds against them. They had to fight entry barriers. Access to latest technologies was difficult. They faced paucity of financial capital. The going was very tough. Yet they did not beat a retreat from Entrepreneurial activity and helped create wealth for the country.

Mr. Indravadan Ambalal Modi, Chairman of Ahmedabad-based Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (CPL), formerly Cadila Laboratories Ltd., belongs to this illustrious club of Champion Entrepreneurs of the post-independent era.

Combining the traditional Gujarati spirit of enterprise with hard work and ingenuity, Mr. Modi dared to venture into business of making medicines and succeeded. And he exploded the prevailing myth that drug-making is beyond the capacity of Indian companies. And now at 85, Mr. Modi physically resilient and in good health is busy working with the same zeal and drive to realize yet another dream: Transform CPL into a global company in real sense.

Today, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (CPL) is one of the largest privately held pharmaceutical companies in India. An integrated healthcare solutions provider, it caters to over 50 therapeutic areas. The company has one of the best Research and Development setups in India, manned by more than three hundred scientists and engineers from various disciplines including biology, pharmacology, clinical research, chemistry, toxicology, phytochemistry and different disciplines of engineering.

The Birth of an Idea

The idea to manufacture medicines germinated in Mr. Modi’s mind while he was pursuing higher studies at the Bombay University where his chosen area of study was Pharmaceuticals and Fine Chemicals.

Completing his graduation, Modi had a brief stint as chief chemist in a chemical manufacturing unit. But the idea of doing something on his own was so irresistible that he quit the job. He realized his dream when he launched Cadila Laboratories in 1951 as a partnership firm with a school friend.

A true visionary and ever willing to learn, Mr. Modi became a Pioneer Entrepreneur and a mature Entrepreneur-manager. Growth has been the single biggest theme that runs through Mr. Modi’s life as a human being, as a business person and as a leader.

Mr. Modi The Early Days

Mr. Modi was born in Hansot (on 18-2-1926), a tiny village in Bharuch district in South Gujarat. He lost his mother early in his childhood and was brought up by his grand mother who remained his mentor throughout. He graduated in science in Baroda and came down to Bombay for higher studies. He was neither affluent nor well connected. Yet he did not give up trying to achieve dream of becoming an Entrepreneur.

It was a humble beginning. Mr. Modi started with practically nothing except a concept and some meager capital. But he had all those intangible qualities that make a creative base for entrepreneurial success: A penchant for Risk-taking. Steely determination. A focused approach. Integrity. A restless mind for innovation. Analytical skill for analyzing opportunities. An awareness to comprehend complex situations including planning and making strategic decisions. He is open-minded and flexible but also a man of dogged persistence.

A man of drive and energy, self-confident and endowed with a sense of urgency to develop his business, Mr. Modi is glutton for hard work. In the start up phase of his business it was routine to devote 18 hours a day in overseeing operations. Failure does not deter or dishearten him. Given to simple living. Mr. Modi evolved his own work style.

Mr. Modi- The Business Person

When Mr. Modi dreamt of making medicine, his idea was to make drugs from herbs that grew in abundance at his birth place. But he promoted a business of manufacturing and marketing allopathic drugs instead! In so doing, he built Cadila Laboratories as one of the top three Indian Pharma majors rubbing shoulders with multinationals. Once firmly established, Cadila went from strength to strength.

From the beginning, Mr. Modi remained customer and cost focused, and wedded to ethical goals. He communicated his vision clearly to his Team and helped people to perform to the highest of standards. These qualities made Mr. Modi more entrepreneurial, more of a leader and more of an institution builder.

But the climb on the ladder of success was a continuous struggle right from securing a license to making drugs from stonewalling governmental authorities to persuading physicians to prescribe Cadila drugs for treatment of the Sick. He secured license with persistence, and achieved marketing breakthrough by adopting a novel marketing technique of personally interacting with physicians providing all information of the drugs that came from Cadila shelf.

Typical of a start-up Entrepreneur Cadila had no depth of management. So, as the leader he was everywhere. He was the producer, promoter, distributor and deliveryman-all rolled into one. He was also the manager, administrator and accountant of his business. His wife and grand mother helped him in chores up to the packing stage. He drew a paltry 250 rupees a month for sustenance and whatever additional revenues that were generated were ploughed back into business.

By the time Mr. Modi was 40, he had proved skeptics wrong who doubted the capability of Indian companies to produce drugs. Starting with two liquid preparations, – Livirubra and Cadila gripe, Cadila soon produced and marketed Formulations Including two novel products – “Isopar” for the treatment of Tuberculosis, and Neuroxin-12-Vitamins B1, B6 & B12 Injection made compatible in a vial for the first time. As part of marketing strategy Mr Modi made it a policy to offer novel drugs every two years. The market response was favourable to these drugs and Cadila slowly but surely emerged as a Brand.

The year 1967 was an important milestone for Modi. In that year Cadila moved into its own factory premises.

The next milestone was 1970 when research and development activities began in right earnest in Cadila. It grew strongly in tandem with the growth of Cadila and became its backbone of product innovation.

As a technocrat, Mr. Modi laid strong emphasis on R&D and consistently invested in it. His strategic decision to make larger investments in R&D has paid handsome dividends. It made meaningful contributions to the growth of Mr. Modi’s business. The advantage has now been retained by Cadila Pharmaceuticals in facing challenges of a new market regime in the wake of Trade Related Intellectual Property Regime which came into force from 2005.

As in personal life, Mr. Modi gives utmost weightage to clean and ethical practices in business too. This doctrine, he very emphatically passes on to each and every individual of his company. Cadila, under the stewardship of Mr. Modi can boast of enjoying a clean slate in terms of strict adherence to statutory and legal legislations.

Mr. Modi As a Leader

When he launched his business Mr. Modi knew that marketing was his key to success which in turn vitally depended on Quality of Cadila products and customer satisfaction.

So he embarked on unconventional strategies to achieve market penetration. First, he focused on introducing new and novel products at an economical price. He then adopted a novel technique of calling on Physicians and acquaint them with the formulation technology used by Cadila to make better products. Doctors appreciated Mr. Modi’s gesture of providing them with detailed information about drugs that Cadila produced which led to increased market acceptance of products.

One notable aspect was conspicuous by its absence on Mr. Modi entrepreneurial agenda. Borrow to grow fast and Get rich quick. He preferred a growth that was natural and reasonable and which was compatible with available resources.

He therefore, studiously avoided borrowing to fuel growth. However there was no rigidity in this stance. When opportunities for faster growth presented itself in the wake of amendment of the Indian Patent Act in 1970 which permitted process patenting, he unhesitatingly lifted the self-imposed embargo on borrowing to fund growth.

Mr. Modi always laid strong emphasis on Quality Manpower. Since Cadila could not afford to hire expertise to upgrade skills of its work force, he himself donned the role of a trainer. He trained people in the area of marketing, production, quality control and testing. His training was so thorough that those whom he trained became soft targets for others in the industry to pluck out.

Mr. Modi has been his own management guru. He firmly believed that one could succeed in business with the aid of common sense. Management is nothing else but being clear about objectives, identifying resources and manpower and evolving detailed plans to achieve them. This homespun management philosophy played a very critical role in the rise and rise of Cadila from a scratch.

Mr. Modi – Human Resources Management Leadership Through People As Cadila grew in strength Mr. Modi who is a staunch believer in concept of Leadership through People has created conditions for constant upgrading of skills of Team by facilitating training by experts from institutions like Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, The Administrative Staff College, Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, PERD Centre, Ahmedabad in functional and behavioural areas. Each of the Head of the department and senior management are attached with one IIM faculty for strategic mentorship. In-house workshops are held frequently with middle management employees.

Again, in line with his emphasis on HRD development, Mr. Modi initiated another path breaking scheme for training of CPL’s frontline managers across the organization in “Competency Development.” The scheme was launched in consultation with Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, HR faculty. Under this programme, initially 100 core managers took up training. They in turn imparted training to others motivating them in imbibing CPL culture of turning out peak levels of performance at all times and conditions.

Influence of Mr. Modi’s Entrepreneurship on External Environment

Mr. Modi’s success in building up Cadila to the position of eminence brought in its wake recognition from governmental and Industrial associations alike. He headed the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association and was Vice-president of CHEMEXCIL.

He played a major role in giving shape to the 1986 Drug Policy of Government of India. He was also member of many educational and social organizations and government bodies. He effectively championed the cause of national sector of the pharma industry and became a rallying point against the new patent regime during its consideration stages.

Mr. Modi is revered in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry as the Champion of Indian Patents Act, 1970 which helped the Indian Pharmaceuticals Industry in attaining its present global status.

His contributions are widely acclaimed in the industry circles. Mr. Modi represented the National Working Group on Patent Laws, India (NWGPL) and Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA) on the subject “Patent Regime” proposed in the Uruguay Round at Delhi from September 2-4, 1993. This international conference was jointly sponsored by the Association of Latinoamericana De Industries Pharmaceutics (ALIFAR), Argentina) and the Canadian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (CDMA, Canada) along with NWGPL and IDMA.

Mr. Modi was one of the key promoters of the B. V. Patel Pharmaceutical Education and Research Development Centre (PERD). Located in Ahmedabad the Centre is a forum for Industry-Academia interaction. Conceptualised as the confluence of Pharmaceutical Education, Training and Research; the Centre offers core and advanced courses in doctorate and post doctorate programmes in Pharmaceutical Sciences. The B. V. Patel Education Trust which runs the Centre has conducted seminars for academicians and technocrats from the Pharmaceutical Industry. Since its inception, it is Mr. Modi who virtually supports and encourages this centre.

Mr. Modi-Social Responsibility of Business- Ka-Ka Ba Hospital Long before the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility became an intensive subject of national debate at management and business fora, Mr. Modi had taken concrete steps towards practicing it by building a 30-bed modern hospital at Hansot, his birth place.

Hansot is an identified backward area whose population had no access to good medicare facilities until the eighties, both in preventing and curative areas. Mr. Modi set up the Kaka-Ba and Kala Budh Public Charitable Trust under the Bombay Public Charitable Trust Act for administering the hospital. The Trust also supplements and complements Gujarat government’s rural development programmes. The hospital has Outpatient departments, Indoor wards, X-Ray unit, Pathology Laboratory and Operation Theatre. It is managed by a Surgeon-Physician and has Gynec, ENT, Ophthalmology, Skin and Dental departments. The hospital has also undertaken TB control programmes. X-Ray and Sonographic facilities are offered at one-third of rates charged elsewhere.

Mr. Modi’s fervent emphasis to the hospital authorities is that their focus at all times must be on saving a human life and not just be satisfied with the mundane task of curing the sick and ailing.

Mr. Modi Professional Excellence

To Mr. Modi, professional excellence is sacrosanct and misses no opportunity to propagate it. One such opportunity came when he became President of Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) in the early nineties. Under his leadership AMA scaled new heights by introducing diploma programme for management studies and floating a centre for career development. During his tenure, AMA was adjudged as the Best Local Management Association in the country. He initiated many novel programmes of academic and contemporary importance.

In recognition of his long standing and exemplary contributions to the industry, society and the nation; Mr. Modi has often been felicitated. The prominent among them include Express Pharma Pulse Life Time Achievement Award, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s Life Time Achievement Award. In January 2008, the Hon. Chief Minister of Gujarat Mr. Narendra Modi felicitated Mr. Modi on the occasion of Gujarat Pharma Centenary Celebrations in recognition of his yeoman service in shaping the industry in Gujarat. In March 2008, he was conferred upon Indian Pharmaceutical Association’s Ramanbhai Patel Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.

He featured in ‘Power 100: Eminent Personalities of Gujarat’ as a Lifetime Achiever. Under his mentorship Cadila Pharmaceuticals featured amongst the ‘Most Trusted Companies of 2008’ by Sara Media and Zee Business for ‘highest degree of accounting transparency and fair dealing to stakeholders during 2008’. He also figured in the ‘Gujarat Glories Power People 50’ a coffee table book released on the occasion, lauding his endeavours for being ‘instrumental in the economic acceleration of the state and country’s economy.’

The year 2009 also saw a plethora of awards including Life Time Achievement Award by All India Medical Association for his excellent contribution in the field of Indian pharmaceuticals, entrepreneurship and invaluable services to community. Mr. Modi has also been honoured by Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association for his priceless contribution to the pharmaceuticals industry.

In the recent past Shri Modi bagged some more reorganizations of high repute. He received “Life time Achievement Award” on the occasion of 3rd Annual Pharmaceutical Leadership Sumit by Pharmaceutical Leadership (Pharma Magazine) at Mumbai in 2010 and figured as “The Legendry” in the coffee table book by Bhaskar group in 2011.

Mr. Modi Going Global

One of Mr. Modi’s great ambitions has been that Indian drug industry should have a strong presence in the global market. His ambition was realised in part when Cadila entered the export market in 1970. It has been a leading exporter ever since.

CPL has now gone a step further. It has floated its first overseas subsidiary called CPL Incorporated at St. Louis, in United States to develop pharmaceutical business for catering to the market needs in North America and Latin America, besides Europe. Today, Cadila Pharmaceuticals has its own offices in Moscow, Africa and Japan. Its first overseas formulation manufacturing facility has commenced its operations in Ethiopia.

Mr. Modi Future Vision

Mr. Modi has been instrumental in taking Cadila into high-tech areas like bio-technology. He has formed a joint venture called “CPL Biologicals Pvt. Ltd. with US based biotech company Novavax which will work in the area of development and manufacturing of therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines, biological therapeutics and diagnostics in India. The new joint venture (JV) will develop vaccines based on “Virus Like Particles” (VLP) using cutting edge technology. This technology significantly compresses vaccine manufacturing time as compared to the conventional methods. Shri Modi aims to provide high quality, affordable vaccines, biological therapeutics and diagnostics through world-class research and innovative manufacturing to address current and future global health challenges.

On the medical front, the company has already commercialised a slew of biotech products-Immuvac (previous name: Leprovac) Leprovac, The world’s first Leprosy Immunomodulator, VISIAL, a biodegradable molecule used in ophthalmic surgeries, STPase, India’s first indigenous Streptokinase and NEVA a rapid HIV detection kit.

Agro division

The Agro Division has used plant tissue culture expertise to help domestic farmers increase yields. Success has already been achieved in Banana cultivation benefitting farmers immensely by way of getting enormous yields from smaller acrage releasing balance land for cultivation of other crops. Other tissue culture plants for domestic market include, sugarcane, teak, papaya, pear gourd and bamboo.

Mr. Modi – The Other Side of the Personality

He is unaffected by the Stress and strain syndrome because of his regular practice of Yoga, spiritual reading and retreating to Solitude for three weeks in a year, every year. Even at the age of 85, he is an early bird whose day begins at 4-30 a.m. and retires for the day at 10-00 p.m. He is a Realist accepting things as they are and deals with them accordingly.