Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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Desh Bandhu Gupta (1938-2017)
Rupali Mukherjee, June 27, 2017: The Times of India
Desh Bandhu Gupta, a doyen of the Indian pharmaceutical industry and a selfmade billionaire will be remembered not just as a founder of Lupin, but a far-sighted nationalist who was passionate and humble in equal parts.
On his watch, Lupin became the second largest pharma company in India, as well as the sixth largest generic company globally . DBG, as he is popularly known, who started the Rs 17,000-crore Lupin with a borrowed capital of Rs 5,000, is survived by his wife and five children (four daughters and a son). His wife, Manju, is credited with loaning him the startup capital from her savings -a fact which he reportedly acknowledged on several occasions. His eldest daughter, Vinita Gupta, and son, Nilesh Gupta, took over the helm of the company in September 2013, but Gupta continued to be actively involved till he passed away at 79 years.
“DBG overcame several challenges in life and business and emerged with flying colours. His concern for poor and less privileged is exemplary for all. He did all these without any publicity ,“ says D G Shah, secre tary general of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, who had a long association with Gupta.
Born at Rajgarh in Rajasthan, Gupta, an MSc in Chemistry, had a vision to fight life-threatening diseases by delivering quality medicines at an affordable price. With this objective, he moved to Mumbai and founded Lupin in 1968 -a fervently nationalistic period which also witnessed emergence of other home-grown companies such as Cipla and Ranbaxy .
Gupta took on the mantle to manufacture and deliver quality, affordable medicines, and made that his core guiding principle. He set up plants to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (raw materials for drugs). It was under his leadership that the company grew from being a small domestic pharmaceutical company to a global drug major, and fourth largest generic player by market capi talisation in the world. Over the last decade, Lupin has made nearly a dozen acquisitions, and today sells its products in nearly 40 countries, with direct presence in 13 of them.
Termed an “eternal optimist by his peers, Gupta was “old school, with hardly any pretense, and always a story to tell. Many remember him as a “people's person“, inspiring loyalty in those who worked for him. “What was most endearing about DBG was his passion and goodness. He was one of the earliest and most farsighted leaders who truly believed in professionals and `Made in India' skill sets,“ Sanjiv Kaul, a pharma industry veteran and partner of ChrysCapital, said. Besides making Lupin a great company , DBG also groomed Vinita and Nilesh to become his worthy inheritors to take the company to greater laurels with his blessings, Kaul added.
Lupin CEO Vinita Gupta and MD Nilesh Gupta said, “What DBG put in motion 50 years ago in helping to create, innovate and lead in the pharmaceutical space is an unparalleled legacy . Those who knew and worked with DBG, remember him giving generously and fostering a dynamic environment where people could learn and grow.“
2016
The Times of India, Aug 03 2016
Lupin arm buys 21 Japanese generics for Rs 1,000 crore
Drug major Lupin said it has agreed to buy a portfolio of 21generic brands from Japanese company Shionogi & Co for 15.4 billion yen ($150 million, or about Rs 1,000 crore), to strengthen its presence in the world's second largest pharmaceutical market.
By size, the $110-billion Japanese pharmaceutical market stands second only to the US, and is largely brand focused. The acquisition by Lupin's Japanese subsidiary Kyowa Pharmaceutical will be effective from December 1, 2016 and is subject to certain closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including the transfer of marketing authorization of products.
Lupin said the 21 products it is acquiring from Shionogi had sales of $90 million collectively in the year ended March, covering therapeutic areas such as central nervous system (CNS), oncology , cardiovascular and anti-infectives.
With this acquisition, Lupin will rank sixth among generic companies in Japan. At present, the company is ranked ninth and is a market leader in the CNS space with its AMEL brand, in addition to other generic pharmaceutical products in its portfolio.
