Reddy, set, go!

Kallam Anji Reddy, the founder of Dr Reddy's Laboratories, one of India's largest medical drug manufacturing company, passed away today in 2013. His contributions to social upliftment were not far behind from his contribution to medicine.

Reddy staring at all those medicines you skipped; Source: Wikipedia

Kallam Anji Reddy, born in February 1939, has been regarded as one of the most significant contributors to the field of Indian pharmaceuticals in the modern era. As he graduated with Pharmaceuticals and Chemical Engineering degrees from the University of Bombay and the National Chemical Laboratories at Pune, his aspirations to deliver high quality medicine developed in Indian factories in around the world would become clearer.

Setting up Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in 1984, and within a year, his work showed success - he had become the first manufacturer of pharmaceutical ingredients in India to be able to sell their ingredients to Europe. Wishing to further expand, he transformed the company into a manufacturer of pharma products, rather than just a supplier of ingredients.

A failed expansion into Russia and the Middle East would make the company reel a bit, but then he focused onto the highly lucrative US market, as he aimed to build a manufacturing facility with all the standards to access the generic drug market in that country.

Reddy’s Research and Development initiatives make it one of a few labs which still actively has a big R&D in India, and it has a penchant for hiring already proven Indian students abroad into his works.

Another side of Reddy would be his obsession with philanthropy, as he kept giving back to the society even when unasked for - he founded a Dr Reddy Foundation in 1999, helping economically backward youth to acquire livelihood and social skills to enter the economy. He also has a School Community Partnership in Education, which focuses on quality education in schools.

He has set up initiatives to promote youth entrepreneurship, and has helped set up schools for migrant labour in Hyderabad. As he passed away on the 15th of March 2013, his image of a combined businessman-philanthropist to be more common in India would remain his legacy for generations to come.