The move promises improved employee retention and potential revenue synergies while focusing on a smooth transition amid brand consolidations
Torrent Pharmaceuticals, the flagship entity of Gujarat-based Torrent Group, plans to reduce its medical representative (MR) strength to around 9,000 from the current combined field force of 9,400 as it integrates the operations of JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.The company also expects the restructuring of its sales network to have a temporary impact on revenues in some territories over the next two to three quarters.“We will be adding to the strength of our workforce in the base business. But it is not going to be a fresh expansion. It is going to be restructuring from the JB divisions. In fact, even with additions in the MR strength of base business, the total number of MRs is going to reduce. Since the integration has started in July, we expect that in the second quarter the MR strength should be closer to 9,000. By the end of the year, it probably will be around the same or maybe slightly less,” Managing Director Aman Mehta said during the company’s earnings call on Thursday evening.Torrent ended the June quarter with a combined field force of around 9,400 MRs, comprising approximately 7,200 from its legacy business and 2,200 from JB Pharma.Field forceThe company said attrition among JB Pharma’s field force has fallen sharply to 16 per cent in June 2026 from nearly 30 per cent before the acquisition, indicating improved employee retention as the integration progresses.The merger-related restructuring had also led to exceptional expenses in the previous financial year where the company recorded a severance compensation of ₹19 crore in FY26 on account of restructuring of JB Pharma’s distribution network.The legal merger of JB Pharma with Torrent became effective on July 8, after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Ahmedabad Bench, approved the scheme of amalgamation. Torrent had acquired a controlling 48.8 per cent stake in JB Pharma on January 21, 2026, with the merger taking effect from the same appointed date.The acquisition brings marquee brands such as Cilacar, Metrogyl, Rantac and Nicardia into Torrent’s portfolio, strengthening its presence in chronic therapies, particularly cardiology, while expanding its domestic branded formulations business. The management of Torrent Pharma said the consolidation of sales divisions, transfer of brands and redistribution of territories could temporarily weigh on revenue during the transition period.Merger process“With the completion of the merger process in July we have now initiated the next set of integration activities,” Mehta said. “There could be minor and transient impact in revenues in some territory till the integration is completed over the next 2-3 quarters,” he added.The company has already started merging JB Pharma’s brands and divisions into Torrent’s sales network.“For instance we have started merging certain brands and divisions in the India business from JB Pharma to Torrent, post the merger. Usually this takes a few months to complete after which the sales trajectory returns to normal if executed well,” he said.Explaining the transition, Mehta said that shifting established brands to a new sales force inevitably involves a learning curve.“If a mid to large size brand in JB has been built by JB field force and grown over the years, if moved to the Torrent division with Torrent reps, the reps will not know all the territories and prescribers immediately. So there is a robust process we follow for brand transfers that minimises any loss of knowledge transfer. But we have seen in all the past acquisitions where there is usually some transition-impact.”Beyond India, Torrent is also evaluating portfolio rationalisation in select overseas markets. “In the international business we are evaluating portfolio rationalisation in certain territories of lower margin and lower priority products... Similar conceptually to what we did with the India trade generics business in order to help and enable further network optimisation,” Mehta said.Torrent also indicated that merger benefits could be realised sooner than previously anticipated.Revenue synergies“We believe that there is a good potential for revenue synergies because of the cross sell potential, the knowledge transfer and the combination of the field force together... The synergy realisation could be much faster than the three year picture given earlier, given that we are six months ahead of the initially perceived merger,” Mehta said.For the next six months, however, management said its priority would be ensuring a smooth integration rather than pursuing aggressive expansion.“For the next six months, the focus will largely be on ensuring that the merging of the divisions and transfer of brands from JB to Torrent goes smoothly. We want to spend most intensive effort on ensuring that each territory, each rep and each field force is fully in grip of what is being handed over.”The restructuring has already begun to reflect in the company’s accounts. Torrent reported ₹21 crore of exceptional items in the June quarter, including ₹2 crore towards regulatory and statutory costs related to the JB Pharma acquisition and merger, and ₹19 crore of inventory write-offs following a fire at one of the erstwhile JB Pharma warehouses.In the March quarter, the company had also recognised ₹19 crore as severance compensation related to the restructuring of JB Pharma’s distribution network, underscoring that the integration process had begun even before the legal merger was completed.Published on July 31, 2026
