Wockhardt's FDA approval of Zaynich marks a historic first, the only drug entirely discovered and developed by an Indian company to clear US-FDA scrutiny. ET’s pharma editor Vikas Dandekar and Rica Bhattacharyya talk to Habil Khorakiwala, Chairperson of Wockhardt who unpacks the 25-year innovation journey behind this milestone. From a deliberate pivot to antibiotics when big pharma was exiting the space, to navigating financial turbulence, asset sales, and regulatory hurdles, Khorakiwala reflects on strategic patience and scientific conviction. He also outlines peak sales projections of $1.5–2...
What Habil Khorakiwala said
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Habil Khorakiwala called the FDA approval of Zaynich historic for both Wockhardt and India, noting that despite disadvantages in financial resources, people, and ecosystem, the company succeeded in a market dominated by global pharma. He explained that Wockhardt deliberately chose antibiotics as a niche in the 1990s, understanding that while big pharma exited due to poor economics and reserved use, India's emerging market made it viable. He described the scientific approach involving PBP2 inhibitors and beta-lactam synergy. Khorakiwala attributed his perseverance through financial challenges and asset sales to simple belief and prioritization. For the US, he said Wockhardt explored licensing but didn't get adequate value, so they are building an in-house leadership team while outsourcing market access. His daughter Zahabia will lead US operations. He estimated peak sales of Zaynich at $1.5 to $2 billion.
Key takeaways
Zaynich is the first drug entirely developed by an Indian company approved by the US FDA, a historic milestone for Wockhardt and India.
Wockhardt deliberately chose antibiotics as a research niche in the 1990s, anticipating less competition while the problem would persist.
Peak sales of Zaynich are estimated at $1.5 to $2 billion.
Wockhardt explored licensing Zaynich but didn't receive adequate value, so it is building an in-house US leadership team.
Zahabia Khorakiwala, Habil's daughter, will lead US operations, with four to five senior recruits already in place.
1:40So from a Wockhardt point of view, if you could tell us how significant is this approval for Wockhardt and what is the road ahead here on?
3:37What gave you the courage of really looking at something very different, the breaking of the PBP, the binding three, two, and three?
4:42Was it more of a scientific bet or a business bet, or would you call it the mission to innovate?
6:17How did you actually want to still come back with the same inspiration?
7:07So now, sir, that you have the biggest achievement for all of your 15 years of continuous research and perseverance, can you give us some idea about how you are actually shaping your US operations?
8:28Sir, can you tell us who is leading the US operations now?
Wockhardt's US FDA approval of Zaynich, an antibiotic that works against superbugs or difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, marks a historic milestone for both the firm and the Indian pharma industry. This is the first-ever drug entirely developed by an Indian company and approved by the FDA. Behind this milestone and the journey that led to it is Habil Khorakiwala, a leader who held his nerve through financial turbulence, regulatory hurdles, and asset sales, never abandoning a 25-year bet on innovation. In this conversation with Ra Batachara and me, the Wockhardt chairman talks about the research pipeline, his international plans, the commercial roadmap for the US with his daughter Zahabia Khorakiwala steering it, and the pipeline of blockbusters that could redefine the company's future. Altogether, a complete switch from generics to the daunting yet rewarding world of innovation. It's Thursday the 4th of June. I am Vikas Dandekar, ET Pharma's editor. This is Corner Office Conversation.
Zaynich is being seen as a milestone in the Indian pharma industry. So from a Wockhardt point of view, if you could tell us how significant is this approval for Wockhardt and what is the road ahead here on?
I consider it very historic both from Wockhardt and India because in a very competitive market which is dominated by global large pharma companies, we could find a new drug. Now you look at the size of our research program in terms of resources, both financial, people, and ecosystem, we are at a disadvantage everywhere. So what it shows is we can do it if we decide to do it. So it is breaking a barrier of thinking.
It's breaking a barrier because the industry started six, seven companies, today out of that they all have closed up. As far as new drug discovery is concerned, technology, yes, we have a lot of successes. But in finding a new drug, some minor traction is there where people have introduced for India. But one of the requirements of a new drug globally is it has to be better than what is available. The second aspect which is very important is how you think strategically long-term, because it has come out with a very deliberate strategy of picking the area of research: antibiotic. Because in the 90s all the companies came, I looked at research at that point in time, drug discovery in a competitive sense. So therefore we found a niche where over the years I will not have competition but the problem will be there. So that was a very important part of it and your ability to believe in it and sustain it.
So this is a very different research, sir. I mean, normally we would see that companies follow what is already known and do something incremental. What gave you the courage of really looking at something very different, the breaking of the PBP, the binding three, two, and three? You know, it was something that was very new and still you pursued it right from the beginning.
Yeah. See what happened was that somewhere along the line inhibitors were there. So when you say that you inhibit some of the enzyme, they develop a new enzyme. Therefore these people rethought of finding another method of doing it. So that is how PBP two resistors were there and if you have something attached, it gives you entirely a very different synergy. The synergy of the two is powerful, they're beta-lactam, they are effective at relatively low doses.
Was it more of a scientific bet or a business bet, or would you call it the mission to innovate? Also, a part two of this question is about the economics of antibiotics.
See, one thing is that the economics of antibiotics was not very good for big pharma, that's why they were exiting. And the hurdles of using antibiotics, you keep it reserved, you don't use it almost. So obviously for that size of company it may not be worthwhile. But from our perspective, our approach was okay, let's do it. Whether we are number one or number three or four doesn't matter. We have India emerging as a very large market, price point we don't have to worry about that. But the fact that our team delivered so many drugs which are globally competitive and better than what anybody could find, basically we understood that process. You need to be a long-term player. Therefore, we went into one space. But if you look at other companies, they went to three, four, five areas relatively. So the only area short-term usage were cancer, antibiotic, and pain. These were the three therapies. So that was the first choice. So it took me about two, three years. We were late starters in research. But I was trying to understand the research. I talked to a lot of guys. I visited a lot of facilities, understood the complexity.
So knowing that research takes so much before you really see the result, and you still stuck with the whole idea that we will go the long haul even at a time when Wockhardt had actually seen so many challenges. You had to sell the businesses. A lot of FCCB issues came up. I mean, no one probably thought that Wockhardt will ever rise back in those difficult times. How did you hold back? How did you actually want to still come back with the same inspiration?
10 more exchanges in this transcript
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Khorakiwala, H. (2026, June 3). Habil Khorakiwala on India's First FDA-Approved Antibiotic. [Interview transcript]. The Economic Times Podcasts. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/960569/
MLA
Habil Khorakiwala. "Habil Khorakiwala on India's First FDA-Approved Antibiotic.." The Economic Times Podcasts, 3 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/960569/.
BibTeX
@misc{khorakiwala2026_960569,
author = {Habil Khorakiwala},
title = {Habil Khorakiwala on India's First FDA-Approved Antibiotic.},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, The Economic Times Podcasts. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jun},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/960569/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
