The United States-India Business Council (USIBC) honoured Shyam Bhartia and Hari Bhartia, co-founders and co-chairs of the Jubilant Bhartia group, with the global leadership award for the year during its annual summit in Washington DC on Tuesday.
Announcing the award, USIBC president, ambassador (retired) Atul Keshap said the Bhartia brothers exemplified the power of India-US collaboration with the group’s interests in pharmaceuticals, life sciences, food, aerospace, among other sectors spanning both countries. Keshap said Shyam Bhartia’s “astute financial acumen” and Hari Bhartia’s “profound application of scientific knowledge”, combined with their spirit of innovation and ethical business practices, had propelled the group to the global stage.
The Jubilant group, which entered the US economic space three decades ago, has pharma manufacturing plants in Washington State’s Spokane and Maryland’s Salisbury. It is the third largest radio pharmaceutical manufacturer in nuclear medicine in the US and has the second largest centralised commercial network with 46 radio pharmacies in 22 states.
Jubilant is also among the top three players in allergy therapy products, with a market share of 25% in the allergenic extract market; it is the sole producer and supplier of venom products for treatment of allergies in the US; and it is among the market leaders in solid dosage formulations. The group is investing over $300 million, with support from the US government, in expanding its pharma manufacturing facilities.
Jubilant has also played a key role in bringing American brands to the Indian market, including making India the second largest market for Domino’s Pizza after the US.
After receiving the award from the Indian ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Shyam Bhartia said that India and the US stand strong on shared ideology. “Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden, we have seen a strategic consolidation of this partnership.” He said that when Jubilant entered the US market three decades ago, it was welcomed with open arms and the group remains committed to investing in the partnership.
Speaking at a subsequent panel discussion, Hari Bhartia spoke about how the group’s collaboration with US companies had helped it learn management of large-scale food supply chains and create an ecosystem of ancillary companies. He said that while the US was the “Mecca of innovation”, in pharma, biotech and tech, India was catching up and now had 5,000 biotech start-ups and clusters of innovation. When asked for forward-looking advice to governments, he called for more collaboration in the regulatory domain, including harmonising approvals.
