It is very important to move with the technological advances. Innovation and creativity are most essential elements of coming up with advanced solutions to the emerging challenges. Innovation breeds growth. There have been several business disruptions owing to technology developments and Century Pharmaceuticals is quite aware about it. Also, with every technological advancement the cost of its product and its quality improves. This gives an edge in fighting the competition from laggards. Century Pharmaceuticals has constantly improved its process and product quality with better technology and cut costs while maintaining a consistent quality standard of its products. Janak Sheth is the Managing Director of the Century Pharmaceuticals. He is one among the manufacturers of Active Pharmaceutical Industries and into research of novel therapeutic proteins in India.
Steady Growth
Century Pharmaceuticals Ltd was set up in 1980 to manufacture pharmaceutical active ingredients and has been growing steadily since then. The initial products were only two. Currently it has a WHO GMP plant with zero discharge. It has been engaged in the research of novel biotechnology molecules since 2008 for the treatment and cure for asthma and allergy and stem cell therapy. Recently, the organisation has taken up research of personalised cancer treatments based on targeted therapy which promises no side effects. Its vision is to reach a turnover of Rs 500 crores in five years from now.
Expanding Product Range and Geographic Reach
Over the years the Century Pharmaceuticals has expanded its product range and also its geographic reach. Century Pharmaceuticals now has about 40 products under manufacture and is exporting its products to 60 countries worldwide.
Some of the most popular products of Century Pharmaceuticals are as follows –
Acenocoumarol
Amlodipine Besylate
Azithromycin Dihydrate
Bimatoprost
Brinzolamide
Calcipotriol
Chloramphenicol
Chloramphenicol Palmitate
Clarithromycin
Dorzolamide HCL
Empagliflozin
Erythromycin
Erythromycin Estolate
Erythromycin Ethyl Succinate
Erythromycin Stearate
Flibensarin
Gramicidin
Latanoprost
Linagliptin
Oxytetracycline (base dihydrate – suitable for injection preparation)
Oxytetracycline HCL (injection grade)
Palonosetron HCL
Rosuvastatin Calcium
Roxithromycin
Sevelamer Carbonate
Sevelamer Hydrochloride
Sildenafil Citrate
Sitagliptin Phosphate Monohydrate
Tadalafil Tetracycline HCL
Tafluprost
Travoprost
Vardenafil HCL Trihydrate
Vildagliptin
Giving Value Added Services
Century Pharmaceuticals Ltd is in the business of manufacturing APIs for over three decades. It offers various kinds of services – in addition to supplies of APIs, it undertakes long-term contracts for manufacturing intermediates and development of new Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients as per requirements of customers. It has a sharp focus on giving value added services to its customers cost effectively.
Dealing with the Pandemic
Owing to the pandemic in India, there was a complete lockdown in March 2020. The business sentiment was at its lowest level as the people could not go out of their houses and hence non-discretionary expenses were curtailed or stopped. Businesses which depended on this were severely affected as well as others owing to the pandemic, which was one of its kind in the century. Owing to this there was a sharp drop in GDP and several businesses suffered as customers could not honour their payments in time. This led to severe financial crunch. However, as the lockdown was relaxed and businesses restarted, the business came back to normal.
With the pandemic, several businesses cut down unnecessary expenses, removed redundant staff, travelling expenses were cut sharply etc. As a result, the second quarter results showed a very healthy profit for most of the companies and Century Pharmaceuticals expect this trend to continue.
In the second wave of virus in Europe and USA, there could be another round of business disruption. Luckily India is not much affected, and this could be a boon for India. Century Pharmaceuticals expect that India will come out of the pandemic with good growth in GDP in later part of 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Developing a Niche in the Market
The competition always gets the better of you. With higher competition we need to struggle to find our place in the market with a better quality and better priced product. Century Pharmaceuticals usually fights the competition by finding a way to develop a niche in the market for its products amongst its customers. This helps organisation to retain the customers over time and sustain its business. With a volatile market Century Pharmaceuticals always benefits by buying raw materials cost effectively at a lower price owing to its strong financial position.
Inspiring Entrepreneurial Spirit
Century Pharmaceuticals always tries to motivate young students to pursue a career as entrepreneurs. As young people have several ideas and if they can structure their ideas into a business plan it would be a much more rewarding experience. As a result, India is able to generate the largest number of start-up businesses. Indian people are smarter than others owing to several challenges faced by us in our day to day lives – starting from water supply to electricity to crowding in various places owing to high density of population. Leaders of the Century Pharmaceuticals are sure that with the ecosystem of more startups, the success ratio will improve with time. Business leaders in India have a greater role and responsibility to grow their businesses faster. India has been an emerging market for many decades. If each business leader grows their businesses faster, the country is likely to move to a US $ 5 trillion economy soon.
Strong Clientele
Century Pharmaceuticals has a strong clientele of small, medium and large customers like Zydus Cadila, Hetero, Aristo, Macleods, Cipla, Glenmark, Pfizer, Abbott etc. The regulatory requirements of large and multinational companies are far more involved than others. However, it enjoys working with all customers as it tries to cater to each customer’s specific requirements. This helps it to retain most of the customers and helps in growing faster.
Awards and Recognitions
Some of the awards and recognition received by Century Pharmaceuticals are: –
Fair Business Practices (Indian Council for Fair Businesses)-
Gold Medal for Excellence in Business Practices (Switzerland)-
Excellence Award for Exports-Excellence for Innovation, Quality, Productivity (IES, India)-
Gold Award from Lockheed Martin in Biotech technologySelected as Fastest Growing Pharmaceutical Company of 2016 in The Silicon Review Magazine.-
Winner of Quality Mark Trust Awards 2016-
Qualified for GOLD in ZED Certification from QCI India (ZED ID-ZEDQCI1211718) –
CEO of the Year by Business Connect Magazine November 2018-
Brand of the Year by “THE CEO Magazine” in December 2018-
Best Entrepreneur 100 in 2019 in the CEO Insights Magazine-March 2019-
An Aspiring Entrepreneur in Technology Widgets Magazine –March 2019-
Business APAC’s Zealous Business Leaders of 2019-
The Most Innovative Brand –2019 in Business View Magazine-“30next-Future of Indian Economy”by Forbes India
India’s Leading Pharmaceutical Companies to Watch in 2020 by Prime View Magazine
India’s Leading Bulk Drug Company by Gujarat Pharma Leadership Awards 2020
