MAKING A MARK

PHARMA MAJOR GLENMARK IS STRATEGICALLY PLOTTING ITS WAY UP, ALL BY SHIFTING ITS FOCUS TO BRANDED AND SPECIALITY MEDICINE AND ENSURING IT GETS ITS R&D RIGHT 

- NEETU CHANDRA SHARMA

NEW POSITIONING

1 Glenmark's focus on creating a global presence in the respiratory segment suggests a strategic shift towards specialised therapeutic areas

2 Its renewed focus on complex generics and speciality products aligns with industry trends towards higher-margin products 

3 Gaining market share in India and expanding into Europe and RoW markets indicates a focus on geographic diversification and growth opportunities 

4 Monetising the innovation portfolio through licensing deals reflects a strategy to leverage intellectual property for additional revenue streams 

5 Sharper focus on free cash generation underscores financial discipline and liquidity management priorities

MUMBAI’S AFTERNOON SUN has bathed Glenmark House in Andheri East in a warm glow as Glenn Saldanha, Chairman and Managing Director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, strides into a boardroom for an interview. Saldanha, who has led Glenmark for nearly 30 years, the last 12 as CMD, has had enough of the volatile business of making APIs or active pharmaceutical ingredients, taking debt for working capital and depending on best-selling brands with margins measured in teaspoons.

Debt is now a bad word in Glenmark House. Saldanha’s buzzwords now are complex generics and speciality drugs (read: fat margins). Glenmark jettisoned its ₹4,600-crore debt in the second quarter of 2024 by selling a 75% stake in its API business to Nirma Ltd on September 21, 2023, for around ₹5,651 crore. It aims to be debt-free by 2026.