World Pharmaceutical Frontiers, London based Pharma publication providing a global perspective on the pharmaceutical industry has come out with a list of leading '40 most influential people of 2008' in the pharmaceutical world. Five Indian pharma leaders namely, Dr M Venkateswarlu, former DCGI, Malvinder Mohan Singh, CEO and managing director, Ranbaxy Labs, Ranjit Shahani, former President, OPPI and vice-chairman & MD of Novartis, Ramprsad Reddy, chairman, Aurobindo Pharma and Rajesh Jain, joint managing director, Panacea Biotec have been named in the list. Dr M Venkateswarlu and Ranjit Shahani were also appeared in the list of 2007.

Among the list of 40, joint winners of Nobel Prize 2007, Mario R Capecchi, Sir Martin J Evans and Oliver Smithies win the first position for unearthing some of the long-awaited cures for diseases that have baffled the medical and pharmaceutical professions for years. The use of stem cell technology is said to be the great hope for research into finding cures for illnesses such as cystic fibrosis, cancer and Parkinson's disease.

Arthur Levinson, chairman and CEO, Genentech, has won second position for his vision on drug development well ahead of the other big pharma. Third position was bagged by Bill and Melinda Gates, co-directors, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, boasting almost $32 billion of spending power.