NURSING WOCKHARDT BACK TO HEALTH

Despite facing financial challenges, pharma and healthcare company Wockhardt has made an effort to motor through the turbulent times. Investor confidence is on the rise-evident in the surge in stock price. Can it stage a comeback in its finances too?

- NEETU CHANDRA SHARMA

HABIL KHORAKIWALA HAS seen more than his fair share of ups and downs in the nearly 60 years since he founded the Mumbai-based pharmaceuticals company Wockhardt in 1967. But even so, the closure of the company's US-based manufacturing facility at Morton Grove, Illinois, last year marked a significant shift.

Once known for its painkiller Proxyvon and blood pressure medications in the 1990s (the business was later sold to Dr. Reddy's Laboratories) and being one of the first companies outside the US and Europe to manufacture recombinant human insulin, Wockhardt continues to grapple with financial challenges.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the company made a clutch of acquisitions, one of the reasons why its debt ballooned. A decade later, it was caught on the wrong foot when the financial crisis hit because of investments in derivatives that went bad, forcing it to enter a painful debt restructuring programme. By 2012, the company looked to have overcome its troubles, only for it to come up against some strong headwinds. The challenges were compounded by the increasing complexity of the pharma industry, characterised by stringent regulations, intense competition, and rising costs.

The pharma and biotechnology giant that Wockhardt Chairman Khorakiwala painstakingly built is now a shadow of its former self. But he is as resolute as before when he meets this journalist.

What fuels this optimism? "We have invested heavily in research and innovation, and raised funds, showing our long-term commitment. We plan to be cash-positive in the next two to three years, focussing on clinical work and reducing the need for further investment," he says.

He's not done just yet. In fact, he believes he's hit upon a winning formula.

THE BAGGAGE