The Pharma Quality Excellence Awards 2025 Honour Mumbai's Visionaries In Pharmaceutical Innovation

The Pharma Quality Excellence Awards 2025 were held in Mumbai on April 25th, at The Westin Mumbai Garden City. The event brought together the outstanding contributions of quality teams in the pharmaceutical industry. The event collaborated with Mumbai's 5th Annual Pharma GMP and Quality Management 2025 conference. CNBC TV18  was the broadcasting partner for the occasion, and Eminence Business Media hosted this magnificent event. This year's theme of the awards was to honour the outstanding contributions of quality teams who signify the P.R.I.D.E. values: Performance, Reliability, Innovation, Development, and Environmental Health & Safety. Pharma Now was honoured to serve as the official media partner, dedicated to providing a worldwide audience with essential insights and industry highlights.

Aim Of The Awards

The Pharma Quality Excellence Awards celebrate teams demonstrating excellence in performance, reliability, innovation, development, and quality standards. The event honoured organisations driving consistent quality, advancing practices, and empowering teams through innovation and growth. The awards aimed to recognise and celebrate the tireless dedication of professionals committed to sustaining the highest pharmaceutical quality and safety standards.

Key Highlights-

Award Categories: 

A wide range of categories were included in the Pharma Quality Excellence Awards 2025 to recognise exceptional accomplishments in the quality landscape of the pharmaceutical business. There are three primary categories for these awards. Here are the awards based on the category

Individual Awards - 

Recognising professionals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, and commitment to quality:

• Quality Control Analyst of the Year: This award honours a QC professional who has consistently delivered outstanding results in testing and analysis, ensuring the integrity of products. 

Winner: Ramanjaneya Prasad - Dr. Reddy's

• Innovative Leader Award: The Innovative Leaders Award celebrates visionaries with exceptional creativity and forward-thinking, driving transformative change and advancements.

Winner: Aswath R - Biocon Biologics

• Deviation and CAPA Management Award: This award celebrates an individual who effectively manages deviations and CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action) processes, ensuring timely resolution and compliance.

Winner: Sachin Badrinath Ghule - Biocon Biologics

• Quality Culture Ambassador: This recognises individuals fostering a culture of excellence, commitment, and accountability in maintaining and enhancing organisational quality standards.

Winner: Umesh Kale - Strides

• Quality Culture Torch Bearer: The Quality Culture Torch Bearer Award acknowledges individuals who champion and exemplify a culture of quality, fostering excellence and continuous improvement within their organisations.

Winner: Sunil Singh - Dr. Reddy's

• AI Pioneer Award: The AI Pioneer award recognises the individual who has significantly contributed to integrating and applying artificial intelligence (AI) with quality assurance and quality control processes.

Winner: Dr. Manoranjan Kumar - Hetero

• Sustainability Advocate Award: The Sustainability Advocate Award commends the individuals demonstrating outstanding commitment to integrating and promoting sustainable practices within the pharmaceutical industry.

Winner: Dr. A. Rama Mohana Rao - Aurobindo

Organisational Awards - 

Celebrating companies that excel in quality management and operational excellence.

• Continuous Learning Award: The Continuous Learning Award recognises a company that invests in employee training and development, fostering a culture of constant learning and skill development.

Winner: Biocon Limited

• GMP Excellence Award: The GMP Excellence Award honours organisations that exemplify excellence and innovation in adhering to and surpassing Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards.

• Turnover more than INR 2,000 Crores: Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd

• Turnover less than INR 1,000 Crores: Orchid Pharma

• Startup: Aquadry Pharma Ltd

• Quality Control Excellence Award: This accolade celebrates organisations demonstrating exceptional standards and innovation in quality control methodologies and practices.

Winner: Encube Ethicals Pvt Ltd

• Best in Process Validation Award: Recognising outstanding achievements in planning and executing robust processes that meet and exceed validation requirements, ensuring product quality.

Winner: Aurobindo Pharma Limited

• Good Documentation Practices Award: Celebrates excellence in maintaining meticulous documentation standards, recognising organisations for their commitment to accurate and compliant record-keeping practices that have uplifted the way quality is pursued.

• Turnover more than INR 2,000 Crores: Ajanta Pharma Ltd

• Turnover INR 1,000 Crores to INR 2,000 Crores: Aarti Pharmalabs Limited

• Startup: Invengene

• Best Practices in Facility Design Award: Recognising organisations prioritising excellence in facility design, elevating overall quality standards to new heights.

• Turnover INR 1,000 Crores to INR 2,000 Crores: Encube Ethicals Pvt Ltd

• Turnover less than INR 1,000 Crores: Orchid Pharma

• Quality Culture Transformation Award: Honouring organisations that successfully cultivate and sustain a transformative culture of quality throughout their entire operation.

Winner: Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd

• Innovation in Quality Award: Recognising groundbreaking initiatives and inventive solutions that significantly enhancing quality standards and processes.

Winner: Strides Pharma Science Ltd

• QMS Integration Award: Honouring organisations that successfully integrate Quality Management Systems (QMS) to streamline processes and elevate overall quality standards.

Winner: Ajanta Pharma Ltd

• EHS Excellence Award: This accolade recognises organisations committed to exemplary environment, health, and safety practices, sustainability initiatives, and compliance with environmental regulations.

Winner: GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals

Jury’s Choice Awards 

The esteemed jury panel determines special recognitions.

• Pharma Quality Leader Award: Quality Leadership Award recognises exemplary individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership in maintaining and advancing quality standards within their organisations and industries.

Winner: A.V. Jayakumar

• Lifetime Achievement Award: The Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates individuals whose enduring contributions and impact in their field have left an indelible mark on the next generations.

Winner: Ranjit Barshikar

Guest Of Honour: 

Dr. Hemant Koshia,

Commissioner, Food & Drugs Control Administration (FDCA), Gujarat. Dr. Hemant Koshia is a veteran drug regulator with 38+ years of experience, leading regulatory enforcement across thousands of pharma units in the state. Leading a team of 1550 diverse regulatory experts to implement regulations and regulate 5800 drug manufacturers and 55,600 sales units in Gujarat. He has also received many Awards & Recognitions from the Central Govt, the State Govt and various professional bodies for e-Governance and Good Governance.

ADG Yashasvi Yadav, 

Additional Director General of Police, Maharashtra Cyber Department, IPS and head of Maharashtra Cyber, is a cybercrime expert and award-winning innovator who has led major cybersecurity initiatives, saving over ₹500 crore from fraud. He has trained numerous IAS and IPS officers in cybercrime as a guest faculty at institutions like the National Police Academy, Hyderabad, and the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy, Mussoorie. Mr. Yadav was also nominated for the Prime Minister’s Award for Public Administration for his innovative e-governance project “Lok Samwad”, which improved citizen engagement and public service delivery.

Attendees 

Attendees at the Pharma Quality Excellence Awards consisted of Pharma & Healthcare Industry Leaders, with the addition of Regulatory Bodies and Pharma Market Influencers, accompanied by Core Quality Teams.

• Pharma & Healthcare Industry Leaders - CEO, Director, President, Vice President, and other Quality Leaders & Veterans from the Pharma Industry.

• Pharma Market Influencers - Policy Makers, Government Officials and Consultants.

• Regulatory Bodies - Regulators represent industry associations and Indian and international bodies.

• Core Quality Teams - Quality Professionals from leading pharma and mid-sized pharma companies.

The Jury 

The Pharma Quality Excellence Awards 2025 were evaluated by an honoured jury of expert professionals from the pharmaceutical industry, regulatory bodies, and academia. This panel ensured a rigorous and impartial assessment process, focusing on the P.R.I.D.E. framework: Performance, Reliability, Innovation, Development, and Environmental Health & Safety to honour excellence in pharmaceutical quality. ​

Jury Members-

• Dr. V.G. Nayak: A veteran with over 40 years in pharmaceutical technical operations, including significant roles at Cipla, Lupin, and Watson Pharma.

• Prof.. (Dr.) Vijay Bambulkar: An esteemed academician and expert in pharmaceutical sciences.​

• Prof.. (Dr.) P.L. Sahu: A respected figure in pharmaceutical education and research.​

• Dr. Udaykumar Rakibe: Known for his contributions to pharmaceutical quality management.​

• Mr. S.M. Mudda: Managing Director at Misom Labs, with extensive experience in quality assurance.​

• Mr. Sridhar Rao: A professional with a strong background in pharmaceutical operations.​

• Dr. Prasad V. Kanitkar: Recognised for his work in pharmaceutical regulatory affairs.​

The Impact Of  Pharma Quality Excellence Awards

The Pharma Quality Excellence Awards 2025 elevated the industry standards by recognising and celebrating pharmaceutical quality and innovation excellence. By spotlighting top-performing individuals, organisations, and values like P.R.I.D.E., the event encouraged a culture of continuous improvement and inspired innovation. It fostered collaboration across the sectors, ultimately strengthening India’s global reputation as a pharmaceutical quality and manufacturing leader.

As the proud media partner of the Pharma Quality Excellence Awards 2025, Pharma Now was excited to help bring this incredible event to life. We shared real stories, inspiring moments, and exclusive insights from the people driving quality and innovation in pharma. It wasn’t just about awards; it was about celebrating the passion, dedication, and progress shaping the future of healthcare. Thank you for joining us in Mumbai on April 25th. We hope you gained exclusive insights on pharmaceutical excellence.

For more details, visit the official website of the Pharma Quality Excellence Awards 2025