At a recent informal gathering, Sun Pharmaceuticals Founder Dilip Shanghvi was asked about the younger brigade rising to become part of top management in domestic drug companies, as challenges loom at home and abroad.

“They also have more resources,” Shanghvi said optimistically, even as the industry braces for a year of disrupting events, including tariffs from the US, strife in different parts of the world, and the need to pursue newer, innovative pathways to drive growth.

Last year saw the elevation of promoter family next-generation in at least three companies: Sun Pharma’s Aalok Shanghvi (40) as Chief Operating Officer; Torrent Pharmaceuticals’ Aman Mehta, the 33-year-old third-generation member of the promoter family, as Managing Director; and Sun Pharma’s Vidhi Shanghvi (37), daughter of Founder-Chairman and Managing Director Shanghvi, as a Whole-time Director.

August 2024 saw Supriya Lifescience’s Dr Saloni Wagh (34) appointed as Managing Director and Shivani Satish Wagh as Joint Managing Director.

All have prior experience in their respective companies, but the turf just got a lot tougher, and will require them to show vision and leadership to take the domestic industry ahead in the global arena, say industry veterans, recalling the impact of doyens such as Dr YK Hamied (Cipla), Dr Anji Reddy (Dr Reddy’s Laboratories) and Dr Parvider Singh (erstwhile Ranbaxy).

The year gone by also saw domestic pharma industry platform Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) appointing Zydus Lifesciences Managing Director Dr Sharvil Patel as President, and Glenmark Chairman and Managing Director Glenn Saldanha as Vice President. The IPA has in the past seen DRL Chairman Satish Reddy, Lupin Managing Director Nilesh Gupta and Glenmark’s Saldanha at the helm.

But the world has since become an unpredictable marketplace, with geopolitical issues adding a disruptive level of uncertainty, especially after Covid-19.

Forceful voice

There is an opportunity for generic drugmakers in the form of the ‘patent-cliff’ — as drugs worth $200 billion are said to lose patent protection over the next five years, observes Biswajit Dhar, economist and former professor at JNU. (When drugs go off-patent, generic drugmakers can make their versions, considerably bringing down the price.)

There needs to be a strong and clearly articulated strategy from younger representatives of the pharma industry, on how they intend to take the industry forward, given the opportunities and challenges, says Dhar, who has seen the industry evolve over four decades, navigating the space between protecting intellectual property and providing better access to medicines.

The government support to industry needs to be targeted and outcome-oriented, he adds. “You (need to) have a proactive industry... which knows where it is going. Then it will also utilise… funds that are available from the government in a more effective manner,” he says. Calling for greater commitment of resources to innovation, he cautions that companies run the risk of takeovers if they play the role of “junior partner” in collaborations with large drugmakers.

An industry insider, who declined to be quoted, points out that the younger brigade is indeed equipped with more resources, in terms of professional management and insights, to navigate a turbulent ecosystem. Besides, he points out, large companies are increasingly run by professional managements, and the promoter family next-gen, too, have worked in the system before elevation.

Geopolitical risks

Commenting on the global landscape drugmakers will need to navigate, Sujay Shetty, PwC’s Global Health Industries Advisory Leader, points to geopolitics as one of the “biggest risks” to contend with. Companies will have to grapple with what it means “for your vendors, your suppliers, your sources of supply, your production lines, your supply chains... it will continue to haunt even pharma”. “You can’t suddenly switch production from one country to another, like garments... because it’s highly regulated... which is why it is a very uncertain climate,” he adds.

Against this backdrop, companies in India are doubling down, looking for growth avenues, he says, even as they explore the advent of AI and undertake digital transformation.

Opportunities also open up from GLP-1 drugs going off-patent, he says, as companies strengthen their obesity and diabetes drugs portfolios.

Given the evolving ecosystem, Vishal Manchanda, Senior Vice-President (Institutional Research) at the Systematix Group, observes, the young leadership will be faced with the task of growing their companies in scale, as the regulatory environment only gets more stringent. Tougher climes await the young brigade to prove their mettle.

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Published on January 12, 2026