What A Success Story of Yusuf Hamied

Among such humanitarians is Yusuf Hamied, the chairman of Cipla, the pharmaceutical company that saves thousands of lives today. It was majorly under Yusuf Hamied that the brand came to be known as a humanitarian pharmaceutical company, as he always stated that he “does not want to make money from diseases that crumble the world”.

Among such humanitarians is Yusuf Hamied, the chairman of Cipla, the pharmaceutical company that saves thousands of lives today. It was majorly under Yusuf Hamied that the brand came to be known as a humanitarian pharmaceutical company, as he always stated that he “does not want to make money from diseases that crumble the world”. 

There are rarely entrepreneurs who are immensely successful in their businesses and also simultaneously use their practices for the good of the world. Among such humanitarians is Yusuf Hamied, the chairman of Cipla, the pharmaceutical company that saves thousands of lives today. 

Founded by Yusuf’s father Khwaja Abdul Hamied, Cipla is widely known as a socially conscious pharmaceutical company that primarily focuses on finding a cure for AIDS. It is also known for giving away medicines to the needy despite them not being able to pay for them in developing countries like Africa and India. It was majorly under Yusuf Hamied that the brand came to be known as a humanitarian pharmaceutical company, as he always stated that he “does not want to make money from diseases that crumble the world”. 

Early career 

Yusuf’s future was decided while he was very young and the only heir to the Cipla pharmaceutical empire. The name was already doing really well by the time he was a kid. He, therefore, studied medicinal chemistry at Christ’s College, Cambridge, and completed his Ph.D. Most of his childhood was spent in Bombay. After taking over, Yusuf mostly worked to find drugs for widely rampant diseases like AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Asthma in developing countries. This is for much lower costs than they were already being sold and manufactured for. His notable work in developing multi-drug combinations and fixed-dose combinations in drugs was well received.  

Achievements 

Working for Cipla as Managing Director for nearly 52 years, Yusuf Hamied was also the 28th richest Indian at one time. ‘CNN-IBN Indian of the year’ and one among the ’25 greatest global living legends’ were the titles that Hamied won for his reign in the pharma world majorly for making medicines affordable to the poor. He was awarded the civil honorary Padma Bhushan from then president APJ Abdul Kalam in the year 2005 for his fight against AIDS, which he often said was going to be as damaging to society as a massive earthquake would be if ignored. 

Yusuf now at 78, is still the chairman of Cipla and wants to focus on globalization at the moment. Cipla will very soon be selling its drugs in nearly 105 countries once its branches get registered. Very recently, they also bought stakes in Chase pharmaceuticals in the United States which mainly makes medicines for Alzheimer’s."I want it to be said when I leave this world that 'he was not just a money-making machine." - Yusuf Khwaja HamiedAccomplishing the seemingly impossible balance between being a top-notch businessman and helping the society like a Robin Hood of the masses is a really rare and incredible talent that Yusuf Hamied will always be revered for. 

About Yusuf Hamied & family 

• Yusuf Hamid is the non-executive chairman of $2.7 billion (revenue) generics maker Cipla. 
• The company was founded in 1935 by his father Khwaja Abdul Hamid, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. 
• When the patriarch passed away in 1972, the Cambridge-educated Hamied and his brother Mustafa inherited the business. 
• Hamid took on big pharmaceutical companies, offering low-cost generic drugs for diseases such as AIDS, earning the label of drug pirate. 
• In 2020, Cipla launched a range of drugs to treat Covid-19, including a generic version of Remdesivir manufactured under a license from Gilead Sciences. 

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