Pankaj R Patel, the chairman and managing director of Zydus Cadila has bagged E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Healthcare and Life Sciences category during a ceremony held in Mumbai on February 16.

As a part of the selection process each year, the search begins with inviting nominations from truly exceptional individuals who have created organisations that are best-in-class and have demonstrated their mettle to compete successfully in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The jury this year had screened 310 nominations to choose these 18 finalists, which includes leading industrialists from India. A six-member jury headed by former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairman M Damodaran adjudged the winners.

Pankaj Patel's entrepreneurial vision has transformed the Ahmedabad-based, Zydus Cadila from an India focused, Rs 200 crore pharmaceutical venture into a highly successful Rs 2900 crore global healthcare company in just a span of 15 years. A second generation pharma entrepreneur, Mr. Patel combines techno-commercial and research expertise and has published over 50 research papers. Patel is currently the president of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) and the Chairman of FICCI's Gujarat State Council. He is the executive chairman, vice president and trustee of the Gujarat Cancer Society and the chairman of the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute. He is also the president of the Ahmedabad Management Association.

Since its inception, over 75 outstanding Indian entrepreneurs have been felicitated by E&Y for their vision, courage and leadership in building successful global businesses. A rigorous selection process, comprising financial and qualitative analysis of all nominees, independently conducted field interviews and the final selection by an independent panel of judges makes this one of the most coveted awards in the industry.