Yusuf Hamied
Dr Yusuf Khwaja Hamied (m. 1954) is an Indian scientist and businessman.
Hamied was born 25 July 1936 in Bombay. He was educated at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Bombay and then read chemistry at Christ's College, gaining a PhD in 1975.
Hamied took over as the chairman of Cipla Ltd., a generic pharmaceuticals company which his father Khwaja Abdul Hamied founded in 1935. He is best known outside India for providing generic AIDS drugs and treatments for other diseases primarily affecting people in developing countries and has lead efforts to give patients life-saving medicines regardless of their ability to pay.
Hamied has also been influential in pioneering development of multi-drug combination pills (also known as fixed-dosecombinations, or FDCs), notably for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, asthma and other ailments chiefly affecting developing countries, as well as development of pediatric formulations of drugs.These innovations have expanded access to medicine and increased drug safety by ensuring proper dosages are taken. He is also highly regarded for his role in expanding the production of bulk drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) which are the active chemical components in medicines, in India.
In 2009 the Yusuf Hamied Centre was opened at Christ's College. The centre features a bronze portrait bust of Hamied by fellow Christ's College alumnus and sculptor, Anthony Smith.
Hamied has been the subject of in-depth profiles in The New York Times, Time magazine, The Guardian, Le Monde, The Economist, the Financial Times, The Times (London), Corriere della Sera, Der Spiegel, Wired and numerous other leading publications, as well as on television programmes such as ABC News, the BBC, CNN and CBS' 60 Minutes.
In February 2013, Hamied announced his retirement plans from Cipla after remaining Managing Director of the company for 52 years.
Hamied was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour by Government of India in 2005. He was awarded the 'CNN-IBN Indian of the Year' in the category of business by CNN-IBN in 2012 for 'for taking on multinational pharma companies and making some of the essential drugs more affordable to the masses in the developing countries'. In 2013, he was named one of the India's '25 Greatest Global Living Legends' by news broadcaster NDTV and in 2016 he was bestowed with the Forbes India Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2008, Hamied was made an Honorary Fellow of Christ’s College.
His role in the battle for mass antiretroviral treatment is portrayed in the documentary Fire in the Blood (2013 film).