Ranbaxy Laboratories

The story of Ranbaxy Laboratories begins in 1937, when cousins Ranbir Singh and Gurbax Singh started a drug distribution company in Amritsar, India. The business was later taken over in 1952 by Bhai Mohan Singh after the founders couldn't repay a loan. The company's trajectory shifted significantly when Bhai Mohan Singh's son, Parvinder Singh, armed with a PhD in chemistry, joined in 1967 and pushed the company from distribution into manufacturing its own generic drugs. Ranbaxy went public in 1973 to fund this expansion and quickly became a dominant force in India's pharmaceutical landscape. The company’s playbook was centered on becoming a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals. It aggressively expanded into international markets, including the United States, by establishing a U.S. affiliate in the late 1990s to capitalize on the demand for cheaper medicines. This strategy turned Ranbaxy into India's largest drugmaker and a top 10 global generics company. A major turning point came in June 2008, when Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo acquired a controlling stake for $4.6 billion, signaling a new chapter for the Indian firm. However, the story soon took a dark turn. Shortly after the acquisition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uncovered significant issues, accusing Ranbaxy of falsifying data and selling adulterated drugs. This led to a years-long scandal, culminating in a 2013 settlement where Ranbaxy pleaded guilty and paid a $500 million fine to the U.S. Department of Justice. Burdened by the regulatory and financial fallout, Daiichi Sankyo sold Ranbaxy to another Indian pharmaceutical major, Sun Pharmaceutical, in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $4 billion. The acquisition was completed in March 2015, marking the end of Ranbaxy as an independent entity and concluding a dramatic journey from a small distributor to a global pharmaceutical giant that ultimately collapsed under the weight of its own malpractices.