Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Jessica Jani 5 min read 20 Sept 2025, 06:00 AM IST In the past five years, Sun Pharma’s market cap has more than doubled. (Reuters) Summary of Sun Pharma’s leadership change-which is the global critical functions, including the Indian business, the US, and its long-term-specific focus-focal-containing a strategic long-term transition. Mumbai: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, the largest drug manufacturer in India, is sending itself on a new course with quick leadership changes. From this month, Kirti Ganorkar, who was the head of the Indian Business, accepted the role of managing director while promoter and founder Dilip Shanghvi went to the role of executive chairman. Shanghvi’s son Aalok has been put on the leadership lane and oversees the most important market of the pharmaceutical giant. Richard Astcroft, executive of the pharmaceutical drugs of Takeda, who was appointed to run his North America business in June, reports to the junior Shanghvi, who is now chief operating officer. Astcroft followed up the longtime company CEO Abhay Gandhi, who left the company in June. Sun Pharma also appointed Jayashree Satagopan as the CFO appointed to succeed CS Muralidharan on July 1. The drug manufacturer previously brought out professional leadership-it was former Teva Pharmaceuticals chief Israel Makov as chairman in 2012 and senior management. In 2017, Abhay Gandhi, who was then the head of the India and the subcontinent, took over as CEO of North America of Kal Sundaram, which adopted the role of CEO, India and emerging markets. However, the current churn involves its global critical functions, including the India Business, the US and its long-term specificity focus. According to industry experts, it is important as a strategic long -term transition for the business. “… it is not unprecedented for Sun Pharma to have leadership change or bring in outsiders, but this scale and coordination of functions indicate a more decisive phase of evolution,” independent pharmaceutical analyst Salil Kallianpur told Mint. Over the past few years, the company, with generic price erosion and recent policy uncertainties in the US, has tightened its focus on strengthening its global innovative medicine pipeline. At the same time, it indicated that the top cover changes were part of a “structured and forward -looking succession planning process”. With succession of transitions, timing is everything, a pharmaceutical analyst said at a broker. “Sun Pharma is currently in good shape, their business is strong and growth is coming … It’s a good time for them to institute management changes or bring in strategic shifts,” the analyst said on condition of anonymity. In the past five years, Sun Pharma’s market cap has more than doubled, from about £ 1.42 trillion at the end of the calendar year 2020 to £ 3.97 trillion currently. The firm delivered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% in sales between 2018-19 and 2024-25, HDFC Securities said in a July note, adding that it had expected a similar CAGR for the next three years to 2027-28, with a steady ebitda margin of 29%. Ebitda is short for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. In 2024-25, the total turnover of the drug maker from operations increased by 8.4% to £ 52,578,4, powered by domestic growth and its global specialty enterprise. It expects its consolidated income to rise in the mid-to-high-single figures in 2025-26. Sun Pharma did not respond to Mint’s inquiries. Specialty focus as American generic growth delayed, Sun Pharma shifted his focus to his innovative medicine pipeline. Due to increasing competition in some products and continuous compliance problems in the manufacturing facilities, the company’s generic sales in the US have delayed, according to the annual report of 2024-25. US sales are largely driven by innovative products. In 2024-25, US formulation sales reached $ 1.921 million, with 3.6% year-on-year. India formulations and global specialty sales have recorded a double-digit growth of 13.7% and 17.1% respectively. US sales were 31% of the total consolidated revenue of the business. In the June quarter, total US sales were $ 473 million, by 1.4% higher than the year, mainly driven by innovative or specialty medicines such as Ilumya, Cequa, Winlevi and Odomzo. In July, he announced that he was a patent with US biopharmaceutical company Incyte Corp. over his hair loss drug Leqselvi, which paves the way for its launch in the US. Leqselvi has been established as a product of more than $ 200 million over 3-4 years from launch. In March, it acquired US immunotherapy and the Oncology Company Checkpoint Therapeutics Inc. for $ 335 million targeted. The drug manufacturer received approval for UNDoxCyt, which is used to treat skin cancer metastatic cutaneous paving carcinoma (CSCC) or locally advanced CSCC, and plans a launch in 2025-26. “I think the team has been greatly reinforced, especially the top level management in the last four to five years … they have invested a lot in talent in American specialty,” says Vishal Manchanda, pharmaceutical analyst at the Financial Advisory Firm Systematix Group. In his role as executive chairman, Shanghvi will be responsible for strengthening the specialty portfolio, the company said before. Aalok, the company’s entire director and chief operating officer, will oversee the North American company, run by a professional. “The US leadership change is critical – that the market is probably the most difficult worldwide for Pharma (due to prices, regulation). To get someone with global pharmaceutical experience, Sun Pharma can help to compete better, protect margins, accelerate launches, etc.” Ascroft, formerly senior vice president and head of the American Unit of US Plasma-derived therapies at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, is an experienced biopharmaceutical executive. “They are trying to make this business more professionally driven … Although the promoter influence remains deep,” Manchanda said. A planned transition corporate sequence can be difficult. An ideal follow -up plan involves foresight and equal involvement of the former leadership and professionals, as the next generation teaches the ropes, a senior manager at a management consultation said on condition of anonymity. The company is trying to balance its global ambitions while taking over the next generation to take over, the executive has added. This year, it increased Shanghvi’s daughter Vidhi to the entire director and appointed Aalok as chief operating officer. Aalok was brought to the business in 2006 and handled various roles in marketing, research and development, project management, purchases and communication. For the past two decades, he has headed Sun Pharma’s business in Bangladesh and emerging markets, which spans 80 countries, and later took the lead in global generic research and development, global generic business development and API (active pharmaceutical ingredients). Vidhi started as a brand manager in the Indian Business in 2012 and in 2015 as a business chief of its consumer health care industry, after his merger with Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. [next generation of promoter family] Obtain more exposure to the business, they are likely to wear a more senior hat, “says Manchanda. The introduction of Ganorkar, who has been with the firm for three decades, starts as Shanghvi’s executive assistant in 1996, is also important, mentioned experts.” This is a step to maintain institutional memory and culture (values, decision -making, etc. the corporate news and updates on live currency.
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