Zydus Lifesciences Limited, formerly known as Cadila Healthcare Limited, is an Indian multinational

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...

company headquartered in Ahmedabad, which is primarily engaged in the manufacture of

generic drugs A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active ...

. It ranked 100th in the Fortune India 500 list in 2020.

History

Cadila was founded in 1952 by

Ramanbhai Patel Ramanbhai B. Patel (19 August 1925 – 19 September 2001) was an Indian chemist who founded the operation, along with school friend I A Modi, that eventually became the Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical company Cadila Laboratories. Patel was born ...

(1925–2001), formerly a lecturer in the L.M. College of Pharmacy, and his business partner Indravadan Modi. It evolved over the next four decades into an established pharmaceutical company. In 1995 the Patel and Modi families split; the Modi family's share was moved into a new company called Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd., and Cadila Healthcare Ltd became the Patel family's holding company. Cadila Healthcare had its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

on the

Bombay Stock Exchange BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange. It is located on Dalal Street in Mumbai. Established in 1875 by cotton merchant Premchand Roychand, a Jain businessman, it is the oldest stock exchange i ...

in 2000 as stock code 532321. In 2015 the company acquired another Indian pharmaceutical company called German Remedies. On 25 June 2007, the company acquired Química e Farmacêutica Nikkho do Brasil Ltda (Nikkho) as part of Zydus Healthcare Brasil Ltda. In 2010, Cadila Healthcare received a

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glax ...

Award under the "R&D for Affordable Healthcare in India" initiative. In 2014, Cadila Healthcare launched the world's first '' adalimumab biosimilar'' under the brand name Exemptia at one-fifth the originator's price. Zydus Cadila Healthcare has also launched its first research based drug molecule Saroglitazar in treatment of Diabetic Dyslipidemia under brand name "Lipaglyn". SoviHep is the first sofosbuvir brand launched in India by Zydus in year 2015. In 2019, injectable

ketorolac Ketorolac, sold under the brand names Toradol, and Biorolac among others, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat pain. Specifically it is recommended for moderate to severe pain. Recommended duration of treatment is less ...

tromethamine manufactured by Zydus (Cadila Healthcare) was recalled due to microbial growth. In 2020, Zydus Cadila's drug Desidustat received approval by the USFDA to initiate clinical trials on

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

patients. In 2022 Cadila Healthcare Ltd., is renamed as Zydus Lifesciences Ltd.

Products

From twenty-five pharmaceutical production operations in India and Zydus Cadila develops and manufactures an extensive range of pharmaceuticals as well as diagnostics,

herbal A herbal is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their medicinal, tonic, culinary, toxic, hallucinatory, aromatic, or magical powers, and the legends associated with them.Arber, p. 14. A herbal ...

products, skincare products and other OTC products. Starting from late 2015, having concluded a voluntary license agreement with

Gilead Gilead or Gilad (; he, גִּלְעָד ''Gīləʿāḏ'', ar, جلعاد, Ǧalʻād, Jalaad) is the ancient, historic, biblical name of the mountainous northern part of the region of Transjordan.''Easton's Bible Dictionary'Galeed''/ref> ...

, the company also produces the generics for

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, ...

treatment (i.e.

sofosbuvir Sofosbuvir, sold under the brand name Sovaldi among others, is a medication used to treat hepatitis C. It is taken by mouth. Common side effects include fatigue, headache, nausea, and trouble sleeping. Side effects are generally more common i ...

, distributed under the brand name SoviHep). The company makes

active pharmaceutical ingredient An active ingredient is any ingredient that provides biologically active or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease or to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or animals. The ...

s at three sites in India, Ankleshwar plants, Vadodara plant, and Patalganga plant.

COVID-19 vaccine development

In July 2020, the company got permission to conduct human trials of the developmental COVID-19 vaccine named ZyCoV-D, from the

Drugs Controller General of India Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) is the head of department of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization of the Government of India responsible for approval of licences of specified categories of drugs such as blood and blood p ...

(DCGI), Government of India. On 20 August 2021, DCGI granted emergency use approval of ZyCoV-D. Cadila is also among the several Indian pharma companies that received the licensing agreements from the

Gilead Sciences Gilead Sciences, Inc. () is an American biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, California, that focuses on researching and developing antiviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, influenza, and ...

to produce ''

remdesivir Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, Text was copied from this source which is © European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication developed by the ...

''.

Corporate control

Zydus Cadila's major shareholder remains the Patel family. Pankaj Patel (born 1953), son of the founder, is the chairman of the company. In 2004, Pankaj Patel was included in '' Forbes''' annual list of India's richest people. As of 2020, ''Forbes'' estimates Patel's net worth at US $3.9 billion, making him India's 46th richest person.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Pharmaceutical companies of India Manufacturing companies based in Ahmedabad Health care companies of India Pharmaceutical companies established in 1952 1952 establishments in Bombay State Indian companies established in 1952 Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange COVID-19 vaccine producers Companies based in Ahmedabad