Trial By Fire

Born just a week after India gained independence, Indoco Remedies has witnessed and been a part of the trials and triumphs of the country's pharma sector for the last seven decades. Now, as we gear up to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the day which marked the end of colonial rule in India, the company has grown steadily to become a well-known entity in the Indian pharma sector.

- Usha Sharma

Founded by late Govind Kare, Indoco Remedies was set up to import pharma formulations from Europe and distribute them in the Western India. However, the road ahead for the fledgling company in a newly liberated nation was no cake walk. Though it had a small pharma unit in Thane, Mumbai, most of Indoco's operations were handled out of Goa which was in the midst of its struggle for liberation. This made it very difficult for the company to manage its operations.

Goa's independence in 1961, ending Portuguese rule on the Gomantak heartland, proved to be a blessing to the company as well as it served to stabilise its operations. In 1963, when Suresh Kare, the founder's son took charge as the Managing Director, the company's annual turnover was around ₹ 3 lakhs and had 30 employees on payroll, a loss-making entity.

The turnaround

It was now up to the new leader to turn the company's fortunes and make it a profit-making venture. An uphill task in the business environment which existed in the country at that time. However, Suresh proved his mettle with hard work and business strategies that gradually put the company on the growth track. The government's decision to favour indigenous players over the MNCs who had dominated the industry since independence also spurred the growth trajectory of the company.

The passage of the Indian Patent Act in 1970, which brought in the regime of ‘Process Patents’, the export initiatives taken by the industry in 1990s, liberalisation of the economy in 1991, opened up new growth avenues for domestic players. Indoco, helmed by an able leader was able to capitalise on the opportunities and emerge as a significant entity in an expanding landscape.

Charting a success story