Strides Pharma Science Limited (Strides) has announced that the Board of Directors (Board) of the Company have appointed Dr. R Ananthanarayanan as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Strides effective January 09, 2020.

Dr. R Ananthanarayanan (Ananth) will succeed Arun Kumar, Founder, and the incumbent CEO & MD of the Company. Arun will transition his active responsibilities at Strides by the financial year ending March 31, 2020, and will step into a strategic role as Chairman of the Board with effect from April 01, 2020.

Ananth brings with him over three decades of top pedigree global pharmaceutical experience across both the technical and commercial functions. Until recently, Ananth was the Global Chief Operating Officer at Cipla Limited, where he was responsible for the company’s generics business in regulated markets and branded generics in emerging markets. He was also driving their API business, biosimilars, complex drug-device combinations, including 505(b)(2) products.

Prior to Cipla, Ananth was the President & CEO of Global APIs, Biologics, & Medis Generics B2B division at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd in the US, managing multi-billion P&L responsibility. He has also held leadership roles at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Piramal Healthcare (Formerly Nicholas Piramal), Galpharm International, UK (Acquired by Perrigo Group), and Zydus Cadila.

Ananth is a Graduate in Pharmaceutical Sciences and earned his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Technology from the University of Mumbai, India. He has also been a member of the Board of Advisors at the School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey.

Ananth’s appointment at Strides comes at the time when the company has concluded its reset strategy to drive profitable future growth on the back of a stronger balance sheet. The Board strongly believes that Ananth’s exceptional global techno-commercial experience and leadership stature in managing the P&Ls of large global pharmaceutical companies will multiply the company’s commitment to creating perpetual value for all its stakeholders.