Strides Arcolab (Strides) announced that its specialties division, Strides Specialties Private Limited which was spun off as a separate division post the restructuring announced in 2009, will now be known as Agila Specialties Pvt Ltd. It will continue to function as a wholly owned subsidiary of Strides. The name Agila reflects the brand ethos of Strides’ specialised product offering which is smart, agile, determined and pragmatic.
Concurrent with this announcement, Strides also announced the appointment of Venkat Iyer as chief executive officer of Agila Specialties. Venkat has been with Strides for 11 years and in the healthcare industry for 28 years. Earlier this year he was inducted onto the Board of Strides as an executive director
“Against the rapid growth of our Specialties division and the increasing role it is playing in our company’s growth, we felt the need for a new identity that will reflect our position in this dynamic and challenging segment of the healthcare industry,” said Arun Kumar, vice chairman and group CEO, Strides “The new identity also communicates our seriousness and intent to be a steriles powerhouse. I have no doubt that under Venkat’s leadership, Agila will only grow in stature and reputation.”
With a world class sterile injectables platform, robust product pipeline and record regulatory filings, hi-tech manufacturing capacities across countries, an impeccable record of quality and marquee customers and partners across the healthcare industry, Agila Specialties is well positioned to build a distinct identity for itself in the industry. Strategic partnerships with the big pharma, continuing licensing income and new product launches in regulated markets have been key growth drivers for the company.
“I am delighted to assume leadership of Agila Specialties at a very exciting stage in our growth,” said Venkat Iyer. “Our focus on key domains has given us a competitive advantage in the industry, validated by the recent partnerships we have entered into with GSK and Pfizer. We will consolidate and build on our domain portfolio while exploring opportunities for more partnerships against the background of growing convergence in the industry.”
Agila Specialties will operate from 7 world-class global manufacturing facilities, including one of the largest steriles capacity in India and amongst the largest lyophilization (freeze drying) capacities in the world. The company is focused on key therapeutic areas like anti-infectives, oncology, CNS, GI, ophthalmics and peptides.
Agila Specialties is in the process of rolling out its new brand identity across the globe. While the company will share some common administrative resources with the Strides Group, all employees of the erstwhile Strides Specialties division will now be employees of Agila Specialties.