Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, July 2026 — Alkem Laboratories Ltd. has announced the appointment of Chanakya Misra as Senior Vice President – Marketing & Sales, Chronic Cluster. In his new leadership role, he will head Alkem’s Chronic Business P&L, leading strategy and execution across the company’s Cardiovascular, Diabetes, and Metabolic therapy portfolio. He will play a pivotal role in strengthening Alkem’s chronic care business, expanding market leadership, and improving patient access across India.
Chanakya brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across pharmaceutical marketing, sales, business strategy, P&L management, and specialty healthcare. Throughout his career, he has successfully built high-performing businesses, launched blockbuster brands, and led transformational growth across chronic care, cardiovascular, metabolic, ophthalmology, rare diseases, and international pharmaceutical markets.
Prior to joining Alkem Laboratories Ltd., Chanakya spent a decade with Novartis, where he held several senior commercial leadership roles. Most recently, he served as Therapy Head – Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic, leading one of the company’s most strategic therapy portfolios in India. Before that, he was Business Franchise Head – Ophthalmology, Cardio Renal Metabolic and Rare Disease, where he oversaw multiple specialty businesses while contributing as part of the India country leadership team. Earlier, as Business Franchise Head – Ophthalmology and Rare Disease, he successfully expanded Novartis’ ophthalmology business while supporting the introduction of advanced cell and gene therapies in India. He also established and led Novartis’ Cardiovascular Business as Head – Sales and Marketing, successfully launching the company’s cardiovascular franchise in India.
Earlier in his career, Chanakya co-founded Vitus Lifesciences, serving as Director and Co-Founder, where he helped establish a branded generics business in the Indian pharmaceutical market.
Before that, he served as Cluster Head at Ranbaxy, where he managed the complete P&L for the company’s chronic business portfolio covering CNS, Cardiovascular, and Diabetes across six business units. Prior to this leadership role, he spent nearly six years with Ranbaxy as Senior Manager – Sales and Marketing, driving growth across the cardiovascular and diabetes portfolio.
Chanakya also served as Vice President – International Business at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, where he led business operations across Africa and the Middle East, significantly expanding the company’s international presence.
Earlier, he worked as Group Product Manager at Britannia Industries Limited, managing the company’s bread, cakes, and rusks portfolio, broadening his commercial leadership experience beyond pharmaceuticals.
His early marketing career included product management roles with Johnson & Johnson, where he managed the Eprex brand, and GlaxoSmithKline, where he was responsible for the cardiovascular and osteoporosis portfolio.
Chanakya holds a Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) in Marketing and International Business from the Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, and a Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) from the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi.
His appointment reflects Alkem Laboratories’ continued investment in strengthening its leadership across high-growth chronic therapy segments as the company expands its presence in cardiovascular, metabolic, and diabetes care.
About Alkem Laboratories Ltd.
Founded in 1973, Alkem Laboratories Ltd. is one of India’s leading pharmaceutical companies with operations in more than 50 countries. Ranked among India’s top pharmaceutical companies, Alkem develops and manufactures branded generics, specialty pharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and innovative healthcare products. The company operates 21 manufacturing facilities across India and the United States and maintains one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical research ecosystems with more than 500 scientists across five global R&D centres. With strong domestic leadership and a rapidly expanding international presence, Alkem continues to advance its vision of delivering “Extended Lifecare Beyond Boundaries.”
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