Brilliant Bio Pharma Pvt Ltd (Brilliant) started its journey by manufacturing and marketing Veterinary Biological & Medicines.
From its inception in 1998 to today, it has witnessed a glorifying trajectory and has emerged as a globally renowned firm serving livestock farmers in India with high quality and affordable health products. Since there were just a handful of vaccine manufacturers at that time, Brilliant focused on vaccines for livestock, developed appropriate technologies, and set up modern manufacturing facilities.
Under the capable leadership of Mourya Boda, Chairman, Brilliant has created a portfolio of vaccines and animal health formulations for the treatment of animal diseases. Moreover, the company has explored export markets and made good headway in the export of it’s products.
MEETING THE FOUNDER
Mourya Boda joined the TGV Group after completing her basic Degree in Law and Master’s Degree in Business Administration. She worked her way up the hierarchy in the group under the able guidance of her father, Industrialist, Philanthropist Shri T G Venkatesh, Chairman of TGV Group.
Mourya Boda has built and steered Brilliant Bio Pharma to its present strong position. She has spearheaded several innovative approaches in the management of a biopharmaceutical company which has enabled Brilliant Bio Pharma to become a cost-effective and quality producer of direly needed vaccines for the livestock sector.
“The journey from 2 lakh doses a decade back to 1500 million cattle immunization against FMD till now speaks about the strenght of Brilliant.”
SERVICE PORTFOLIO
While they have a range of animal health products – prophylactic, therapeutic, and nutrition products, their focus has been more on prophylactic products i.e vaccines where there are just a handful of players. The company makes viral and bacterial vaccines for cattle, goats, sheep, and dogs.
Further Mourya Boda added, “Our flagship products are Foot & Mouth Disease (FMD) and Rabies vaccines. We will soon make vaccines for canines, a segment where there is just one other domestic manufacturer and where most products are imported.”
DIFFERENTIATING FACTORS
Brilliant is one of the largest manufacturers of FMD vaccines in the world. The state-of-art facility is BSL3 (Bio Safety Level 3) and has 10 KL fermenters, which makes it different from others.
“We are one of the most cost-effective manufacturers of veterinary vaccines. As a result, we have been able to meet the requirements of India’s large Animal Disease Control Programs (NADCP) for livestock diseases, chiefly FMD vaccine, shared Mourya Boda.
POINT OF VIEW ON THE CURRENT SCENARIO
The current Covid-19 pandemic situation is unprecedented and has caused a huge setback to the animal health industry in India. The industry depends to a considerable extent on government initiatives and spending, which is critical for the marginal farmers in India, and on rural private spending which has also been impacted. The loss of business for Brilliant is significant.
MAJOR CHALLENGES
As a result, the liquidity position has been hugely impacted, the working capital position is stressed and capital funding for new projects delayed. Companies have no option but to tighten their belts, postpone discretionary spending and conserve capital.
HURDLES ON THE WAY
Among the major challenges that Brilliant has faced in the past is to scale up the manufacturing of the FMD vaccine, which is undoubtedly one of the most difficult vaccines to manufacture. To Brilliant’s credit, it must be stated that it has not only successfully faced this challenge but also has been able to build scales of operations which is the highest in the global animal vaccine industry. Brilliant has also been able to automate much of its unit operations to ensure better productivity and realize reliable, quality output.
Among other challenges have been to build Brilliant’s credibility and company image as a serious, research-based animal vaccine manufacturer in which farmers can depend on the protection of their livestock from animal diseases.
THE SECRET SAUCE
Brilliant’s success can be attributed to the competencies of its loyal band of people, their creative and innovative approaches to problem-solving, and their collective capabilities to give the company sustained competitive advantage. Manpower is the driving force taking the company ahead and is the assets.
Mourya Boda has been mainly responsible for steering Brilliant from the front to its present strong position, thanks to her exemplary vision, strong leadership, hands-on and participative management style, and the customer-centric policies pursued by the company.
MOTIVATING CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IN THE WORKSPACE
Brilliant believes that the creative spirit of its people can be harnessed by providing challenging work opportunities, fostering an open working environment, allowing freedom for employees to operate, by being patient with people to let them learn from their mistakes, and by providing sufficient rewards for exemplary performance.
BUILDING LONG TERM CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
“The customer must be at the center of everything that we do. We operate with this motto. In Brilliant’s case, it is the small and marginal farmer to whom affordability and accessibility of quality products are paramount. All decisions and plans at the company are centered on this expectation of customers”, Mourya Boda asserted.
“We serve our customers through the medical community. We need to build credibility with them. We must assess, understand, and be responsive to their expectations. We believe in building long-lasting relationships with the medical community and interact with them not merely for building our business but also in various other ways to build their professional calibre,” she further added.
Road Ahead
The animal health industry is at the threshold of important changes taking place concerning increasing emphasis on food safety and the need to do away with the use of antimicrobials, hormones, and chemicals. Besides, it is also seized with improving public health aspects related to the impact of zoonotic diseases. The ‘One Health’ initiative of WHO, FAO, and OIE is an approach to achieving better public health outcomes for not just zoonotic diseases but also achieve better food safety and antimicrobial resistance.
Brilliant Bio Pharma is committed to this cause. It not only has a current portfolio of products supporting this initiative but is also working on new products, particularly vaccines to meet this challenge of zoonotic diseases. It is also on the threshold of several nutritional products which can progressively reduce dependency on antimicrobials and hormones for better food safety.
JEWELS IN THE CROWN
Brilliant has been the recipient of the Best Pharma Company Award 2019 at the HMTV Business Excellence Awards
Mourya Boda is the recipient of:
- Pharma Leaders Innovative Women Biotech Leader of the Year 2018
- IWEC (International Women Entrepreneurial Challenge) Award 2015 at Istanbul
CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMUNITY
Brilliant discharges its CSR responsibilities both on its own accord and by association with the TGV Group. Among the initiatives are free marriages for the less privileged, free water supply to poor households and the ‘Gowri’ initiative which is unique extends incentives to the wives of employees who meet the non-smoking/non-alcohol stipulations in the company. For the livestock sector, Brilliant conducts pan-India rabies vaccination camps in association with leading organizations and NGOs, an initiative to attain Rabies Free India.