Summer 2021
Article
Business History Review

The Cost and Evolution of Quality at Cipla Ltd, 1935–2016

By: Muhammad H. Zaman and Tarun Khanna

Format:Print

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of Indian pharmaceutical manufacturer Cipla towards producing drugs that met the quality standards of European and U.S. regulators. It employs new research in Cipla’s corporate archives, the Creating Emerging Markets database, and interviews with Cipla employees, government regulators, and public health professionals in Africa, India, Latin America, and the United States. The article argues that, along with a longstanding corporate culture of self-reliance rooted in nationalism starting from its inception in 1935, major factors in Cipla’s strategy from the 1960s through the early 2000s included the early adoption and continued use of quality control technology, along with efforts to create global goodwill for affordable, high quality generic drugs during the HIV/ AIDS epidemic of early 2000s.

Keywords

Cipla; Pharmaceuticals; Drug Quality; Generics; Quality; Standards; Information Technology; Cost; Organizational Culture; Business History; Pharmaceutical Industry; India

Citation

Zaman, Muhammad H., and Tarun Khanna. "The Cost and Evolution of Quality at Cipla Ltd, 1935–2016." Business History Review 95, no. 2 (Summer 2021): 249–274.