The world could be a better place only when everyone has a free access to healthcare. Yes, Yusuf K. Hamied, Chairman and Managing Director of Cipla Limited, is one such individual who has been working day-in and day-out to make it a reality.

A messiah of the Indian pharmaceutical industry, few can challenge his stature as a nationalist because it is a well known fact that he has single-handedly fought against the domination of multinational pharmaceutical companies in India. Known for supplying life-saving drugs at a much reduced price than many MNCs, Hamied has re-scripted the stories of business profitability.

A man known for his academic qualifications, Dr. Hamied, obtained his PhD in Organic Chemistry from Cambridge University under the able guidance of the Nobel Laureate Lord Alexander Todd. After this, he joined Cipla as a Research Officer and was later appointed as its Managing Director in 1976 and the Chairman in 1989.

In fact, Hamied got his first lesson in chemistry and entrepreneurship under the guidance of his father, Khwaja Abdul Hamied, who himself was an Organic Chemist and the Founder of Cipla. When he died in 1972, Hamied became the CEO of the company and since then he has taken the company to the trajectory of growth and glory.

One of the finest entrepreneurs of the pharmaceutical industry in India, Hamied knows well how to create the right mix of business and humanitarian ideology. A self-confessed Gandhian, Hamied has always emphasized upon the significance of self-reliance and self-sufficiency in healthcare. It was for the same reason that he made efficacy and affordability of medicine his primary goal in life. A staunch advocate of national interests, Hamied has been instrumental in boosting the prospects of the indigenous pharmaceutical sector in India.

Not surprising, Dr. Hamied burst onto the global scene in 2001 when Cipla under him offered anti-HIV drugs to poor African countries at one-thirtieth of the standard price. This came as a big jolt to many multinational companies who accused him of plagiarism. The MNCs had their own reasons, as the drug (Triomune) was basically a mixture of other drugs. But as Indian patent laws allowed no monopoly in this sector, it enabled him to continue undeterred

A leader in the domestic industry with annual turnover exceeding Rs.2300 crore, Cipla under the able stewardship of Dr. Hamied has successfully introduced more than 30 bulk drugs and is considered a pioneer in the bulk drug industry.

A man of strong conviction and ideology, Dr. Hamied has a number of international patents and research papers to his credit. A member of the governing body of the CSIR for a number of years, Dr. Hamied was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by ANACON in 1997. Again in 2002, he received the Lifetime Achievement award from Express Pharma Pulse. A Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, Dr. Hamied by dint of his courage, strategy and hard work, has bestowed on Cipla, the respect which only a companies can boast of.