K. Anand: Helping Indian Pharmaceutical Firms Raise Their Quality & Regulatory Standards
K. Anand
CEO & Managing Director
In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, K. Anand shares his early professional experience and what still drives him to continue working for the industry, how the company delivers quality as well as timely services and much more.
Take us through your educational and professional journey entailing the drive that brought you to deliver your expertise in the pharmaceutical sector. What makes you passionate about your job?
I have an overall experience of almost 35 years in the pharmaceutical sector. I did my Master's in Chemistry from Bombay University in 1976. After that, I started my career in the pharmaceutical industry and joined Sarabhai Research Centre in Baroda, which was one of the most well-known companies those days for its new chemical entity research. At Sarabhai, I helped the medicinal chemistry group engaged in NCE research develop robust analytical methods and also supported developing robust Analytical Test Methods for Sarabhai group companies.
Later on, I worked for many reputed pharmaceutical companies, such as Lupin Laboratories, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Famy Care, Zydus Cadila, and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, and have led the Quality and Regulatory functionalities at those organizations as the Group Head of Quality and Regulatory Affairs. I was responsible for maintaining the best quality standard for products such as bulk pharmaceutical chemicals, finished dosage forms, and vaccines and even built a good quality management system within those organizations. Later, I moved into pharmaceutical consulting and started Qualiminds.
Pharmaceutical products are extremely vital for India's healthcare sector. Similar to food and shelter pharmaceutical products are one of the most essential requirements for the sustainability and good healthy living of mankind. The service provided by the pharmaceutical sector to humanity is what still drives and inspires me to be a part of this industry.
Define Qualiminds as an organization and its position in the current pharma industry.
Qualiminds is a consulting firm offering comprehensive pharma services to its clients and was established in May 2016 to build a
good quality healthcare system within those client organizations. I am the founder and Managing Director of the firm. With more than 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, I have led the quality and Regulatory Affairs portfolio as well as built quality management systems for many reputed pharmaceutical organizations. After Dr. Reddy's laboratories in 2016, I decided to start my pharmaceutical consulting firm and help all the upcoming and midsized companies grow both nationally and internationally using my experience in the industry.
Give us a gist about your team and how does the company deliver quality as well as timely services, while meeting the regional requirements?
At Qualiminds, we are a team of 14 to 15 dedicated professionals with expertise in the pharmaceutical sector. Each of them has vast experience of around 20 to 25 years in the Pharmaceutical sector and works on both national as well as international pharmaceutical consulting projects from time to time. We help pharmaceutical companies in preparing their manufacturing sites to meet up to the requirements of the highest regulated markets, such as The US and Europe-based markets.
With India contributing more than 60% of the generic medicine requirements in the US and 40% of the generic medicine requirements in Europe, both the US and Europe are the chief drivers of the business for the Pharmaceutical sector in India. The Indian pharmaceutical industry has been doing extremely well in the last 20 to 25 years to meet the essential drug product requirements globally. Thanks to the efforts of the Indian Pharmaceutical industry by adopting scientific technologies and putting up cost effective manufacturing setups, the prices of generic drugs have remained very competitive and affordable in all the major Western countries.
Since quality is the driver of all these drug products, my team helps the industry grow by ensuring that all the companies we are providing service to, meet up those quality challenges by maintaining proper quality systems.
What are your goals for the future and why do you strive to achieve them? What has been the success mantra that has been helping you to arrive at positive out comes?
With enough encouragement from our government, India under our prime minister has been a booming hub for a lot of startup and midsized companies to grow. While these companies don't have the tools or expertise required, we at Qualiminds want to help those firms with our vast experience in the pharmaceutical sector. As the Pharmaceuticals is a highly regulated space from the manufacturing point of view, every pharmaceutical company across the world needs to go through rigorous GMP as well as regulatory inspections. However, this expertise is not available in many companies.
Having a large team with each of the team members having around 20 to 25 years of experience, we at Qualiminds want to contribute our vast knowledge and experience back to the pharmaceutical industry and help those companies raise their quality as well as regulatory standards. India also has to reduce dependence on overseas
Similar to food and shelter, pharmaceutical products are one of the most essential requirements for the sustainability and good healthy living of mankind
Give us a gist about your team and how does the company deliver quality as well as timely services, while meeting the regional requirements?
At Qualiminds, we are a team of 14 to 15 dedicated professionals with expertise in the pharmaceutical sector. Each of them has vast experience of around 20 to 25 years in the Pharmaceutical sector and works on both national as well as international pharmaceutical consulting projects from time to time. We help pharmaceutical companies in preparing their manufacturing sites to meet up to the requirements of the highest regulated markets, such as The US and Europe-based markets.
With India contributing more than 60% of the generic medicine requirements in the US and 40% of the generic medicine requirements in Europe, both the US and Europe are the chief drivers of the business for the Pharmaceutical sector in India. The Indian pharmaceutical industry has been doing extremely well in the last 20 to 25 years to meet the essential drug product requirements globally. Thanks to the efforts of the Indian Pharmaceutical industry by adopting scientific technologies and putting up cost effective manufacturing setups, the prices of generic drugs have remained very competitive and affordable in all the major Western countries.
Since quality is the driver of all these drug products, my team helps the industry grow by ensuring that all the companies we are providing service to, meet up those quality challenges by maintaining proper quality systems.
What are your goals for the future and why do you strive to achieve them? What has been the success mantra that has been helping you to arrive at positive out comes?
With enough encouragement from our government, India under our prime minister has been a booming hub for a lot of startup and midsized companies to grow. While these companies don't have the tools or expertise required, we at Qualiminds want to help those firms with our vast experience in the pharmaceutical sector. As the Pharmaceuticals is a highly regulated space from the manufacturing point of view, every pharmaceutical company across the world needs to go through rigorous GMP as well as regulatory inspections. However, this expertise is not available in many companies.
Having a large team with each of the team members having around 20 to 25 years of experience, we at Qualiminds want to contribute our vast knowledge and experience back to the pharmaceutical industry and help those companies raise their quality as well as regulatory standards. India also has to reduce dependence on overseas
Consultants(from US and Europe)sooner than later who are prohibitively expensive. Equally good talent/technical support can be provided by the home grown technical Experts/ Industry leaders of the recent past which will significantly reduce the financial burden of hiring expensive US/European Consultants.
This will also be in line with our Prime Minister's mission of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' in the space of Pharma Consulting which is Science driven.
Ensuring that the healthcare needs of India as well as the rest of the world are met affordably and India becomes the global hub of the pharmaceutical industry is something that still inspires us to get going even after 35 years at the highest level in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The ideology that still drives us is that we at Qualiminds have to support and provide our expertise to the industry to meet up the regulatory challenges and the compliance standards of the manufacturing organizations, which, in return, will help Indian medicines to be well accepted, highly affordable across the globe.
Based on your professional experiences, what would be your advice to individuals stepping into the Pharmaceutical space?
As an experienced leader, who has taken up large portfolios, such as quality and regulatory, and has seen 35years of growth in the Indian pharmaceutical industry,I can say that the pharmaceuticals sector is a very promising space. Similar to other essential items, such as food and shelter, pharmaceutical products are one of the key sustaining factors of good healthy human growth. The healthcare sector is an integral part of human sustainability, and we have recently seen that in the pandemic scenario. While the whole world suffered massively due to Covid, the pharmaceutical industry worked against the clock to develop the Covid vaccine.
Similar to COVID, there will be many more unmet needs for various types of disorders and diseases in the future. So continuous innovation and upgradation of the GMP systems in the manufacturing facilities is extremely vital to meet the ever-growing challenges of drug products which, I believe, will be one of the key factors to driving growth in pharmaceutical based organizations.
K.Anand, CEO & Managing Director, Qualiminds
K. Anand is a seasoned pharma leader with an accomplished career spanning over 35 years in many reputed pharma firms in Quality & Regulatory Affairs and is also the CEO & Managing Director of Pharma Consulting firm, Qualiminds. Using his years of expertise and experience, he has been helping startups as well as SME Pharmaceutical firms raise their quality standards while meeting up the regulatory and quality requirements of the pharmaceutical sectors across the world. A strong believer in transparency across all walks of life, he has done his Master's in Chemistry from Bombay University.
.Hobbies: Listening to Music, Watching Sports and political development across the globe
.Favorite Cuisine: South Indian Cuisine, Udupi Cuisine
.Favorite Book: Wings of Fire by Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam
.Favorite Travel Destination: Switzerland, Germany, Modern cities in the US
This will also be in line with our Prime Minister's mission of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' in the space of Pharma Consulting which is Science driven.
Ensuring that the healthcare needs of India as well as the rest of the world are met affordably and India becomes the global hub of the pharmaceutical industry is something that still inspires us to get going even after 35 years at the highest level in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The ideology that still drives us is that we at Qualiminds have to support and provide our expertise to the industry to meet up the regulatory challenges and the compliance standards of the manufacturing organizations, which, in return, will help Indian medicines to be well accepted, highly affordable across the globe.
Based on your professional experiences, what would be your advice to individuals stepping into the Pharmaceutical space?
As an experienced leader, who has taken up large portfolios, such as quality and regulatory, and has seen 35years of growth in the Indian pharmaceutical industry,I can say that the pharmaceuticals sector is a very promising space. Similar to other essential items, such as food and shelter, pharmaceutical products are one of the key sustaining factors of good healthy human growth. The healthcare sector is an integral part of human sustainability, and we have recently seen that in the pandemic scenario. While the whole world suffered massively due to Covid, the pharmaceutical industry worked against the clock to develop the Covid vaccine.
Similar to COVID, there will be many more unmet needs for various types of disorders and diseases in the future. So continuous innovation and upgradation of the GMP systems in the manufacturing facilities is extremely vital to meet the ever-growing challenges of drug products which, I believe, will be one of the key factors to driving growth in pharmaceutical based organizations.
K.Anand, CEO & Managing Director, Qualiminds
K. Anand is a seasoned pharma leader with an accomplished career spanning over 35 years in many reputed pharma firms in Quality & Regulatory Affairs and is also the CEO & Managing Director of Pharma Consulting firm, Qualiminds. Using his years of expertise and experience, he has been helping startups as well as SME Pharmaceutical firms raise their quality standards while meeting up the regulatory and quality requirements of the pharmaceutical sectors across the world. A strong believer in transparency across all walks of life, he has done his Master's in Chemistry from Bombay University.
.Hobbies: Listening to Music, Watching Sports and political development across the globe
.Favorite Cuisine: South Indian Cuisine, Udupi Cuisine
.Favorite Book: Wings of Fire by Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam
.Favorite Travel Destination: Switzerland, Germany, Modern cities in the US