Dilip Shanghvi

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dilip Shanghvi

• Dilip Shanghvi hails from a family with a business background.

• He grew up in Kolkata’s Burrabazar neighbourhood.

• He is often mistakenly believed to be a Jain.

• At a young age, Dilip began helping his father in their family business, a wholesale medicine dealership specialising in generic drugs based in Kolkata.

• While working in his father’s wholesale medicine business, Shanghvi came up with the idea of manufacturing his own drugs instead of selling those made by others.

• In 1982, Shanghvi borrowed money from his father and established Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited with an initial investment of Rs. 10,000. His first manufacturing unit was set up in Vapi, Gujarat, which was focused on producing a single psychiatry drug. He started with a team of five workers.

• Sun Pharma began producing cardiology products in 1987 and gastroenterology products in 1989.

  

• After acquiring Milmet Labs, Sun Pharma expanded into ophthalmology. In 1987, the company was ranked 108th in India, but it rose to 6th place over time.

• Under Dilip’s leadership, Sun Pharma grew rapidly and by 1997, it expanded its global presence by acquiring Caraco Pharma, a US-based company.

• In 2007, Sun Pharma expanded further by acquiring Israel’s Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

  

• In 2012, Dilip Shanghvi resigned as chairman of Sun Pharma and appointed Israel Makov, a former CEO of Teva Pharmaceuticals, to lead the company. Dilip, however, continued serving as managing director.

  

• In April 2014, Sun Pharma decided to buy Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited from its majority shareholder, Daiichi Sankyo, for $3.2 billion in shares and $800 million in debt.

• Sun Pharma and Daiichi’s deal was completed in March 2015, making Sun the biggest drug company in India and the fifth-largest globally. Daiichi also became Sun Pharma’s second biggest shareholder.

• In 2016, the Human Resource Development Ministry appointed Dilip as the chairman of the board of governors at IIT Bombay.

  

• In 2017, he was appointed as a trustee of the Rhodes Scholarship programme at Oxford University.

• In January 2018, Dilip Shanghvi was selected by the Indian government to join the Reserve Bank of India’s 21-member central board committee.

• In 2019, Dilip Shanghvi’s first biography, ‘The Reluctant Billionaire,’ was published by journalist Soma Das. The book was nominated for the Tata Literature Live! Literary Award for Best Business Book in November 2019.

  

• In May 2021 he stepped down as Managing director of Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Limited (SPARC), a biopharmaceutical company founded in 2007 after splitting from Sun Pharma. But, he continued to serve as its non-executive director and chairman.

• In 2022, the Government of Gujarat appointed him as the chairman of Gujarat Biotechnology University (GBU).

  

• In 2024, Dilip became the fifth richest person in India with a net worth of $29.1 billion.

• Dilip is an ardent follower of Shrinathji and often travels with his family to Nathdwara in Rajasthan to visit the temple. His offices and factories are filled with pictures and idols of Shrinathji.

• Dilip Shanghvi is an avid reader and has read all books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. A colleague from Lupin Limited once spotted him reading one of the books while on a flight.

• He enjoys watching movies, especially on their release day.