5 Indian firms among world's 25 'unsung' innovative cos

As many as five Indian companies like Indian Hotels, footwear firm Bata India have been named in the list of world's 25 'unsung' innovative companies by the BusinessWeek magazine.According to a list compiled by the BusinessWeek 'The world's 25 unsung innovative companies' includes firms which have failed to get a position on the the list of world's most innovative companies but are likely to become household names like Apple, Google in the next 10-20 years.The other three Indian firms on the list are-- Bajaj Holdings & Investment,Godrej Industries and Yes Bank.

Apple, Google, Toyota, and Microsoft--the corporations at the top of this year's Most Innovative Companies ranking are household names the world over. But they wouldn't have all been winners 10 or 20 years ago. The same may be true 10 or 20 years from now," the magazine said.About Indian Hotels, which runs the luxury hotel chain of Taj Hotels & Resorts, the magazine said, "its slick and modern accommodations and attentive service, which it attributes to a merit system that links employee pay to customer satisfaction ratings.

About the footwear retailer Bata India the magazine said, "whether it be canvas sneakers, high heels, or rubber flip-flops, the products are known for their durability and Indian flair.Bajaj Holdings & Investment formerly known as Bajaj Auto, operates through two arms-- financial and investment services, while the other manufactures two-wheeled vehicles. Another Indian firm Godrej Industries which makes and sells bulk chemicals and edible oils has also been named among the unsung list.
About Godrej, the magazine stated that," the company is developing customer-relationship software that will enable buyers to track orders and transactions and receive updates through personalised Web pages.Further, about Yes Bank it stated that bank had carved out a niche in the India by using technology to keep costs low while providing "value added services" to its customers.

Apart from the five Indian entities, Bangladesh's Grameen Bank founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus has also reserved a seat on the list. Interestingly, 97 per cent of Grameen Bank's client are women.

Other companies on the list include Alibaba.com, women's apparel maker Bravissimo, vaccum cleaner firm Dyson Direct, publishing house Future, technology consultancy Grupo Inforges, video entertainment firm Hulu and design consultants Ideo.

Lilly seals a R&D deal with Zydus

Lilly and Zydus established a collaboration to discover and develop potential drug candidates against a novel target, with the research primarily focused on cardiovascular diseases.

Zydus’ role within this covers drug discovery, lead identification and optimisation and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials up to Phase II human proof-of-concept. In return Lilly will provide expertise and feedback regarding toxicology, ADME (adsorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion), chemistry, biology, clinical and regulatory aspects when deemed necessary to increase the probability of success. Lilly will also supply the chemical starting points.

The deal includes the option for Lilly to license any of the resulting molecules at different stages of development, with Zydus receiving up to $300m (€226m) in milestone payments. Zydus would also receive royalties from any product that reaches commercialisation.

another wave of M & A in Pharma

So far three deals that topping $150 billion in value have been announced in the global pharma industry this year. Merck & Co. acquired Schering Plough for $41 billion and Roche announced $47 billion plans to buy an additional 44 per cent in Genentech, and earlier in January, Pfizer had announced the $68 billion purchase of Wyeth. Aimed at cutting costs and bolstering research pipelines, the mergers are reminiscent of the last round of dealmaking in the late 1990s. And at that time it had roiled some Indian subsidiaries.

In 1998, Germany’s Hoechst Marion Roussel merged with France’s Rhone Poulenc to form Aventis. In 2000, US’s Abbott acquired Knoll from Germany’s BASF. In the restructuring that followed, one Indian arm of each “combined” firm was sold. The Indian arms had little in common with their parent firm with decades-old products that had long fallen off the parent’s radar. It was clearly difficult to extrapolate synergies seen from a global merger. The Indian pharma market also figured low in Big Pharma’s priorities at that time but India has recently emerged as an important market. Every MNC knows they need an India piece. Some, such as Merck, that exited in the 1980s are back with a new focus. This time around, there may be no such sell-offs.

BW