Glenn Saldanha

Glenn Mario Saldanha
Born
Mumbai, India
EducationUniversity of Mumbai
Leonard Stern School of Business, New York University
OccupationsBusinessman, Chairman and Managing Director, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
FatherGracias Saldanha

Glenn Mario Saldanha (born 1969)[1] is an Indian businessman who has been chairman and managing director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals since 2001.[2][3][4] His father, Gracias Saldanha, founded the company in 1977 as a manufacturer of generic drugs. Under Glenn Saldanha's tenure, Glenmark expanded from its branded-generics business into drug discovery and entered partnerships with multinational pharmaceutical companies for the development and commercialisation of drug candidates.[5][6][7]

Early life and education

Saldanha was born in Mumbai. He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Mumbai and an MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.[8][9]

Career

Saldanha began his career at Eli Lilly and Company in the United States as a brand manager on Prozac, then moved to PricewaterhouseCoopers as a management consultant, advising pharmaceutical clients including Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and SmithKline Beecham.[4][5] He returned to India in 1998 and joined Glenmark as a director,[10] when its annual sales were around ₹70 crore, generated almost entirely in the domestic market.[4] He became managing director and chief executive officer in 2001.[11][12][13]

India amended its patent law in 2005 to recognise product patents rather than only process patents, closing off the practice of manufacturing near-copies of patented drugs.[14] Saldanha has said this change was his reason for investing in original drug discovery rather than continuing to build the company around generics, and Glenmark set up a drug discovery division ahead of the law taking effect, focused on oncology, dermatology and respiratory disease.[5][15] The company then began out-licensing molecules it developed: partnering with larger companies for late-stage development and commercialisation in developed markets while retaining rights to India and other emerging markets itself.[16][4]

Saldanha negotiated the first such deal in September 2004, licensing an asthma and COPD candidate, GRC 3886 (oglemilast), to Forest Laboratories for $35 million in upfront and milestone payments;[4] a second licence for the same molecule went to Teijin Pharma of Japan in April 2005 for $53 million.[5] Oglemilast failed in COPD trials in 2008 and was discontinued.[17] A candidate for type 2 diabetes, GRC 8200, was licensed to Merck,[5] which later returned it to Glenmark, while an osteoarthritis and pain candidate, GRC 6211, went to Eli Lilly.[5][18] In 2010, Saldanha negotiated the licensing of a chronic pain candidate, GRC 15300, to Sanofi for $25 million upfront.[4][19] He has said Glenmark earned approximately $230 million in total through out-licensing by 2014.[20][21][22]

During his tenure, Glenmark subsequently built a branded specialty portfolio it would commercialise directly in some therapeutic areas, particularly dermatology and respiratory medicine, while continuing to out-license candidates in others. RYALTRIS, a fixed-dose combination nasal spray for allergic rhinitis, received US FDA approval and launched in the United States in 2022;[23] Saldanha has said the product reached 55 countries by the 2026 fiscal year.[24]

In oncology, Glenmark and its subsidiary Ichnos Sciences formed Ichnos Glenmark Innovation (IGI) in January 2024 to bring the group's cancer drug discovery under one entity.[25] In July 2025, IGI signed a global licensing agreement with AbbVie for ISB 2001, a multiple myeloma candidate that targets proteins on both myeloma cells and T cells, built on a Glenmark-developed antibody platform called BEAT. The deal included $700 million upfront and potential milestone payments of up to $1.225 billion, with Glenmark retaining commercialisation rights for India and other emerging markets.[26]

Saldanha was appointed president of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, an industry body representing major Indian pharmaceutical companies in 2017.[27]

Recognition

Business Today named Saldanha among India's best CEOs in 2014. In 2015, he received India's Pharma Leader Award, a national award conferred by the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India,[28] and the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in the life sciences and healthcare category in India in 2017.

Saldanha was ranked 57th on the Forbes India Rich List in 2013 and 69th in the 2017 listing.[29][30][31] In 2026, Saldanha and his family were ranked 66th on the 360 ONE Wealth Creators List, with a combined net worth reported at ₹27,792 crore ($2,973 million).[32]

References

  1. ↑ "Glenn Mario SALDANHA personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  2. ↑ "Last Man Standing in Indian Pharma". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  3. ↑ "Best advice I ever got: Glenn Saldanha - BusinessToday". Business Today. 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Glenmark's R&D Gamble". www.forbesindia.com. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Medicine man Glenn Saldanha - BusinessToday". Business Today. 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  6. ↑ "Glenn Saldanha wants Glenmark to take innovative route - BusinessToday". Business Today. 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  7. ↑ Altstedter, Ari (18 May 2017). "Pharma Heir Seeks a New Holy Grail as Generic Drugs Run Dry". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "11 Debutantes on the India Rich List". www.forbesindia.com. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  9. ↑ Bahree, Megha. "New Drugs, India-Style". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  10. ↑ "AbbVie Deal Crowns 25 Years of Determination; Commercial Leap Is the Next Task, Says Glenn Saldanha". ETPharma.com. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  11. ↑ Bhattacharyya, Rica; Dandekar, Vikas (2026-07-22). "Glenmark sees innovative products driving 70% revenue in 5-6 years: CMD Glenn Saldanha". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  12. ↑ "Know more about Glenn Saldanha, chairman and managing director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals". Business Today. 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  13. ↑ Majumdar, Shyamal. "The secret behind Glenmark's success". Rediff. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  14. ↑ Pilla, Viswanath; Ganguli, Bodhisatva (15 July 2025). "This deal will hopefully inspire other companies to invest more in innovation: Glenn Saldanha". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Jani, Jessica (2025-07-14). "Sacrifices, trade-offs behind big win, says Glenmark's Saldanha". mint. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  16. ↑ Pilla, Viswanath (11 July 2025). "Glenmark's R&D bet pays off handsomely with AbbVie deal, vindicating backer-in-chief Saldanha". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "For Glenn Saldanha, innovation is the new Vitamin for Glenmark's success". The Economic Times. 2017-05-20. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  18. ↑ Bisserbe, Noemie (2008-04-05). "Glenmark's Glenn Saldanha: An innovative chemist". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  19. ↑ Mahalingam, T. V. (2011-05-22). "Failures and doubting investors have not dissuaded Glenmark Pharma's Glenn Saldanha". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  20. ↑ Datta, Jyothi (2025-06-18). "The effort is to stay focused, do things that are globally competitive: Glenmark Pharma CMD". BusinessLine. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  21. ↑ "Out-licensing yes, but with a more "mature" approach, says Glenn Saldanha". BusinessLine. 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  22. ↑ "Organizing for Innovation at Glenmark (A)". cases.isb.edu. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  23. ↑ "How Glenmark is climbing the pharma ladder with branded and specialty medicine - BusinessToday". Business Today. 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  24. ↑ "As we move up the value chain, developing comprehensive portfolio for global market to be key priority: Glenn Saldanha, CMD, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals". The Financial Express. 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  25. ↑ "Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Ichnos Sciences establish alliance for cancer drug discovery - BusinessToday". Business Today. 2024-01-30. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  26. ↑ "Glenmark, AbbVie Ink Licensing Deal for ISB 2001". Rediff. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  27. ↑ Pilla, Viswanath (16 October 2017). "Glenmark's Glenn Saldanha takes over as president of pharma lobby group IPA". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  28. ↑ Tamta, Prashant. "Meet man who left his job in US, returned to India, now leads Rs 21,053 crore pharma company". DNA India. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  29. ↑ "Glenn Saldanha - Forbes India Magazine". Forbes India. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  30. ↑ "India Rich List 2017: The dropouts". www.forbesindia.com. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  31. ↑ "Richest Indians: How Indian Entrepreneurs Fared in 2012". www.forbesindia.com. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  32. ↑ "Glenn Saldanha and Family Net Worth 2026 | Glenmark Pharmaceuticals | Wealthiest Families India | 360 ONE". wealthcreatorslist.360.one. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
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