Reddy: Process expertise, luck drove success

Process expertise made Dr. Reddy's the success it is today, says chairman Kallam Anji Reddy. That, and some luck in the form of India's 1970 Patent Act.

The law limited drugmakers' patent protection to production processes, and not drug products. That limitation, along with acceptance of bioequivalence as a benchmark, led to the generics industry in India.

"We in India have honed our skills in producing bulk drugs," says Reddy, as reported by LiveMint. He uses the example of ibuprofen, launched by Boots Co. in 1969. "They had their own process. I made a totally different process, which made a purer ibuprofen than Boots," he says. And a third company came up with yet another process.

"We worked hard and we have innovated; we have made things in a better way at a cheaper rate and gave it to the people of India. So that is the reason why we are dominating. We are dominating in the U.S. generics industry, and in fact all over the world," he says.

- see the interview