Patel Bets On Next-Level Patient Care

Focus on handholding patients through the disease cycle, a large pipeline of 300-plus molecules put Zydus ahead of the rest.

- JOE C. MATHEW

CAN PATIENT centricity make business sense for a pharmaceutical company in India where medicine sales are driven by doctor prescriptions and retail trade? Yes, it does, says 46-year-old Sharvil P. Patel, managing director of Ahmedabad-based Zydus Lifesciences Ltd.

Being patient centric is not only a business strategy but also the way forward, at least for his company, says Patel, the third-generation entrepreneur who assumed leadership of the company in 2017. Revenue and profit numbers back his view. Zydus achieved highest ever operating profit and margins on gross sales of ₹19,022 crore in FY24. Net profits grew 96.88% from ₹1,960 crore to ₹3,860 crore. Both U.S. and India, with over 40% share of consolidated revenues each, contributed to the growth.

“Ever since we rechristened ourselves as Zydus Lifesciences (it was known as Cadila Healthcare Ltd. till February 2022), our focus has been on serving unmet needs of patients, becoming more patient centric and ensuring access to medicines. A lot of those things have started to play out in the last three years,” says Patel.

Patient centricity, he explains, means having an innovative portfolio and offering end-to-end value play to the patient. Breadth of products within a disease category covering the entire cycle of the patient’s journey makes the company’s products a compelling choice for medical professionals and other key stakeholders.