Cipla chairman Yusuf Hamied has been elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society, U.K. for his service to the cause of science. Dr. Hamied graduated with honours from Cambridge University in 1957 and continued a Ph.D in 1960 under the tutelage of Nobel Laureate Alexander Todd. The Society is a Fellowship of the world’s most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. The Fellows are elected for life through a peer review process.
“Over the past six decades, Dr. Hamied has been instrumental in the growth and development, implementation and adoption of science in indigenous pharma industry in India. He has commercially synthesised many essential drugs by developing patent non-infringing processes in diverse areas, steroids, antibiotics, HIV/AIDS, respiratory and oncology drugs,” said the Society in the biography issued on him. “In the late ’90s, a major achievement was the novel syntheses of 3 anti-retroviral drugs and combining them into a single dose therapy, making treatment efficacious and affordable. This resulted in saving millions of lives in Africa,” the biography read.
In a statement, Dr. Hamied said: “I cannot find words to describe my elation at being elected as an honorary fellow of the Royal Society. It is truly unbelievable and I owe this privilege to my family, my colleagues at Cipla, past and present, and the recognition that scientific knowledge has to be implemented and adapted for the benefit of society.”
“For his humanitarian approach in providing access to affordable healthcare, he has received several lifetime achievement awards and honours in India and internationally,”it said.
