Quality culture: A big test for Indian pharma

Once a culture that fosters high standards is in place, the sector will truly become world class

One of Henry Ford’s pithiest idioms defining quality at the shop floor, is as relevant today as it was when he was building the assembly lines at Detroit a hundred years ago. Ford famously said that “quality is doing it right when no one is looking”. Manufacturing company CEOs the world over, have tried this over the years, with varying degrees of success. India’s pharmaceutical industry is grappling with the very same issues.

India is the world’s third-largest pharmaceuticals producer by volume and thirteenth by value. Generics companies have seized the opportunity that opened up as blockbuster drugs lost exclusivity and