Pharma Quality Excellence Awards 2026 - Celebration and Conclusion

The Pharma Quality Excellence Awards 2026 marked another significant milestone in recognizing excellence in pharmaceutical quality and innovation. Hosted at Hotel Westin Mumbai Garden City, the ceremony brought together industry leaders, quality professionals, and regulatory authorities to celebrate individuals and organizations contributing to the advancement of quality across the pharma sector. Chief Guest Prof. Man Mohan Sharma, Ex Director, UDCT, and Guest of Honour Mr. Sumnesh Joshi, Deputy Director General - Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, Government of India, attended the event alongside key stakeholders from regulatory bodies, pharma companies, and the digital ecosystem.

Winners and Highlights

The awards were structured into three segments: organizational, individual excellence, and the jury’s selection, to recognize achievements at both the corporate and individual levels. The jury panel, comprising Dr. Adil Billimoria, Dr. Antony Raj Gomas, Dr. Deo Narain Dikshit, Dr. Rajiv Desai, Shirish G. Belapure, and Vijay Kshirsagar, ensured a rigorous and unbiased evaluation process.

This year’s winners reflected strong progress across quality systems, operational excellence, and innovation, underscoring the industry’s continued focus on building robust and future-ready quality practices. The individual awards category winners are as follows:

Individual Excellence Awards

• Quality Control Analyst of the Year: Mr. Sandip S Vasav; Ajanta Pharma
• Quality Assurance Analyst of the Year: Nidhi Sharma; Biocon Ltd
• Deviation & CAPA Management Award: Mr. Kashif A Khan; Ajanta Pharma
• Continuous Improvement Advocate Award: Mr. Manjunath MS; Micro Labs Limited
• Innovative Leader Award: Dr. A. Rama Mohana Rao; Aurobindo Pharma Limited
• Quality Culture Torch Bearer Award: Birendra Kumar; Plasmagen Biosciences
• Quality Culture Ambassador Award: Mr. Amit Verma; GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
• Sustainability Advocate Award: Mr. Md Ehatasham Ansari; Biocon Biologics

From a large pool of nominations received across categories, select winners across individual and organisational segments were recognized by the jury; the winners for organisational award categories for the year are:

Organizational Excellence Awards

• GMP Maturity Excellence Award (Turnover up to INR 500 Crores): Pinnacle Life Sciences
• GMP Maturity Excellence Award (Turnover over INR 3000 Crores): Strides Pharma Sciences

• Best in Process Validation Award (Turnover up to INR 500 Crores): Pinnacle Life Sciences
• Best in Process Validation Award (Turnover over INR 3000 Crores): Aurobindo

• Facility Design Excellence Award (Turnover up to INR 500 Crores): Lupin Manufacturing Solutions
• Facility Design Excellence Award (Turnover between INR 500 – 1500 Crores): Aarti Pharma labs
• Facility Design Excellence Award (Turnover over INR 3000 Crores): Biocon Biologics

• EHS & Sustainable Quality Ecosystem Award (Turnover over INR 3000 Crores): Ajanta Pharma

• Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence in Quality (Turnover up to INR 500 Crores): Linux Laboratories
• Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence in Quality (Turnover over INR 3000 Crores): Micro Labs

• Risk-Based GMP & Compliance Excellence Award: FDC India
• Quality Culture Transformation Award: Biocon Ltd
• Data Integrity & Documentation Maturity Award: GSK India
• Continuous Learning Award: Granules India
• Innovation in Quality Award: Encube Ethicals Private Limited

Two key award categories were based on jury discretion, where nominations were assessed with detailed justification. The winners under the jury’s selection categories are:

Jury’s Selection Awards

• Pharma Quality Leader of the Year: Ranjana Phatak
• Pharma Lifetime Achievement Award: RR Tuljapurkar

The winners' list highlights a broad spectrum of achievements across the industry, reinforcing the importance of continuous improvement, innovation, and strengthening quality systems.

Event Conclusion and Closing Remarks

The event concluded with a strong message on the evolving role of quality in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly as organizations move beyond compliance and focus on building long-term capability and resilience. Managing Director of Eminence Group, Ms. Guneet Hayer, extended her appreciation to the jury members for their expertise and commitment to a fair evaluation process, ensuring the credibility of the awards.

In closing, the Pharma Quality Excellence Awards 2026 by Eminence Business Media successfully recognized industry leaders and innovators during a gala evening, setting the tone for continued advancement in quality excellence.