- Starting with just Rs 25 lakh, Dr Reddy's is now a Rs 2,151 crore company
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Since its inception in 1984, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd (DRL) has grown as one of the few Indian pharma companies to have made it big in both domestic and international markets. Dr K. Anji Reddy started the company with a mere Rs 25 lakh and built it up to a net worth of Rs 2,151 crore by 2016. The swanky office in Hyderabad’s posh Banjara Hills is a testament to the foresight of Dr Reddy and G.V. Prasad, his son-in-law and the CEO of the company.
Starting his career with Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd in 1969, Reddy set up Dr Reddy's with one motto—start something where others in the industry feel there is a battle to tackle. Today, Dr Reddy's not only has ownership of formulation drugs, but is also a frontrunner in generic manufacturing. After Dr Reddy’s death in 2013, the mantle passed on to Prasad. If the founder was known as a risk-taker, his successor is credited with pushing the boundaries of the possible, making Dr Reddy's a global player that is now the authorised generic supplier of pharma giant Merck’s two biggest-selling drugs. Dr Reddy’s dream to make DRL the first Indian firm to discover a new drug continues to inspire the company today.
Prasad is known as Dr Reddy's “big picture guy”. Reserved and plain-speaking, he is a leader who knows what he wants and how to get it. He says innovation is paramount to the company and that is the main reason DRL’s product pipeline is clearly differentiated from those of its competitors. With a graduate degree in chemical engineering and a Master’s in industrial administration from Perdue University, Prasad is a great believer in putting the needs of the patient first and says the consumer is boss. That’s why Dr Reddy's focuses on producing reasonably priced generic drugs. Now looking to increase sales and operations within India, Prasad feels they can accomplish it by sticking to the principles of innovation and consumer satisfaction.
