A doctor for a Watford pharmaceutical company has been honoured with a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2019.
Dr Bharat Shah, of Sigma Pharmaceuticals Plc, was given the award for ‘services to business, economic growth, exporting, the independent pharmacy sector and philanthropy.’
The honour crowns a long and a distinguished career in the pharmacy profession for Dr Shah.
A highly respected professional and ‘elder statesman for pharmacy’, he has been a passionate advocate for independent community pharmacy, helping the sector raise standards and campaigning for the profession to become an integral part of the enlarged NHS.
Commenting on the award, Dr Shah said: “I am truly humbled by this honour and have been left completely speechless. It is beyond anything that I could have imagined and I hope I can live up to this high accolade bestowed upon me”.
Dr Shah came to the UK from Kenya in the early 70’s, and after graduating with a first class degree in pharmacy from the University of Bath, opened his first pharmacy in 1975 and ventured into wholesaling a few years later.
Today, Sigma is the largest independent shortline wholesaler in the country with a turnover in excess of £250million.
The company now operates from a state-of-the-art fully automated facility in Watford, employing over 400 people and supplying 2,500 pharmacies nationally.
Apart from his numerous philanthropic projects in India, Kenya and across the UK, he continues to have a passion to help the poor and to raise the quality of life for the less fortunate in our world.
Recently, he has been at the forefront of a Sigma sponsored PhD project, working in conjunction with Bath University, to develop a strategy to ‘inform the future of community pharmacy in the UK’.
This academic project aims to define a clear vision for pharmacy up to the year 2025.
Dr Shah is also a distinguished Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and has garnered numerous personal awards and accolades throughout his career.
For further information about the award, please contact Chrys Quarmby, Sigma’s marketing head on 01923 444999 or email her at chrys@sigmaplc.com
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