Leena Gandhi Tewari chairs the privately held pharmaceutical company USV, set up by her grandfather Vithal Balkrishna Gandhi over six decades ago in Mumbai. The company, best known for its diabetes and cardiovascular drugs such as Glycomet GP and Ecosprin, tells Viveat Susan Pinto the reasons behind its foray into nutrition and its future roadmap. Excerpts:
What was the rationale for the acquisition of Wellbeing Nutrition?
The acquisition of Wellbeing Nutrition completes the circle for us as a company. When we began in 1961 under ‘U.S. Vitamins & Pharmaceuticals’, vitamins were one of the two original pillars of the firm. We expanded into diabetes and cardiology to address the country’s changing disease burden. The acquisition of Wellbeing Nutrition reaffirms our founding principle—that healthcare is not just about treating disease. It is also about sustaining health and wellbeing. We also believe nutrition, like medicine, must be evidence-based. We chose Wellbeing Nutrition because it mirrors this value, with clean, clinically studied ingredients. In an industry often driven by marketing, we are choosing to build on a foundation of science.
How complementary is this deal to USV?
This acquisition is highly complementary and strategically coherent with USV’s long-term evolution. USV has built leadership in diabetes and cardiovascular care over six decades. Healthcare today, however, begins long before a prescription. With Wellbeing Nutrition, we extend our footprint from treatment to prevention. It allows us to participate across the full metabolic health spectrum—from advanced therapies such as GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) to daily nutritional support. That makes the deal deeply complementary and future-facing.
How long will Wellbeing Nutrition founder Avnish Chhabria run the business post-acquisition?
While we have acquired a 79% stake in the company (at an enterprise valuation of Rs 1,583 crore), Avnish (Chhabria) will continue to manage the business for the next two years. His entrepreneurial vision, deep understanding of the consumer wellness space, and the culture he has built are integral to Wellbeing Nutrition’s success. We will bring together USV’s institutional capabilities—governance, operational excellence, global reach, and scale—with Wellbeing Nutrition’s agility, innovation, and deep consumer connect.
What is the future roadmap for USV?
Our roadmap is very clear: build a comprehensive healthcare platform. On one side, we will continue to strengthen our core pharmaceutical leadership and prepare for entry into the GLP-1 segment with our brand ‘Usema’ post-loss of exclusivity. On the other, we will scale Wellbeing Nutrition into a dominant, science-led consumer wellness brand—accelerating innovation, expanding omnichannel reach, and leveraging USV’s global quality and compliance strengths. The ambition is to lead across the entire continuum of metabolic health—prevention, management, and advanced therapy.
Your sense of the nutrition market in India? How do you see the market evolving?
India’s nutrition and nutraceutical market is at an inflection point. Consumers are becoming significantly more health-conscious, particularly post-pandemic. There is a visible shift from reactive treatment to proactive prevention. The consumer wellness landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Consumers today are far more informed, with access to research, reviews, and health data at their fingertips. They are no longer buying supplements impulsively—they are demanding clean labels, clinical validation, and trusted brands.
As modern lifestyles change, we are witnessing a distinct shift towards convenient, innovative delivery formats that fit seamlessly into daily routines. The shift from reactive healthcare to preventive wellness is structural, not cyclical. We believe the market will see rapid growth, but also consolidate around credible, science-backed players. That is where we see long-term opportunity.