Cipla Quality Chemicals Ltd, the producer of human drugs in Uganda, has appointed Ajay Kumar Pal as its new managing director.
Kumar is taking over from Dr John Collins Kamili who has served in the position since 2013.
“Please welcome Ajay Kumar Pal, the incoming Chief Executive Officer of Cipla Uganda. Mr Kumar joined us in February 2020 as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to that, he was Senior Director Head of Manufacturing Cipla South Africa,” Cipla announced last week.
Kumar holds a Master of Business Administration in Management and Leadership from Mandela University South Africa and a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India.
He has over 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry from South Africa and India.
Mr Kumar welcomed the appointment.
“It’s an honour to lead an organisation build on the purpose of caring for life. Cipla Uganda is an African enterprise which works with resolve to make a difference in lives of many by making pharmaceuticals in Africa,” Mr Kumar said.
Mr Kumar joins at the time when Cipla Quality Chemicals (Ciplaqci) is experiencing financial challenges. The drug manufacturing company’s share price on the Uganda Securities Exchange is trading at an average of Shs100 down from Shs 256.5 per share during the IPO in 2018.
In the previous year, Cipla recorded a Shs36bn loss compared to a profit of Shs7bn recorded in the previous year as additional impairment allowance, drop in gross margins and increase in interest on overdraft took a toll on the company.