30/09/2026
FROM WORKING AT HIS FATHER’S MEDICINE SHOP TO BUILDING A ₹2.4-LAKH-CRORE PHARMA EMPIRE
Dilip Shanghvi was born into a modest Jain business family in Amreli, Gujarat, which later moved to Kolkata.
His father ran a small wholesale medicine shop.
After completing his commerce education, Dilip joined his father at the shop.
But he had a different question in mind.
Instead of selling medicines made by others, why not manufacture them himself?
In 1983, at just 27, Dilip borrowed ₹10,000 from his father and started Sun Pharma in Vapi, Gujarat.
He began with just 2 people in the marketing team and focused on psychiatric medicines — a segment that larger companies were paying relatively little attention to at the time.
Slowly, Sun Pharma expanded its product portfolio.
In 1996, the company acquired a production facility from Knoll Pharma.
Then came a series of strategic acquisitions that transformed the company’s scale.
In 2014, Sun Pharma acquired Ranbaxy Laboratories from Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo in a $4-billion deal.
The acquisition transformed Sun Pharma into one of the world’s major pharmaceutical companies.
Today, Sun Pharma generates more than ₹58,000 crore in annual revenue, with a significant share of its business coming from international markets.
Think about where it started:
A small medicine shop.
₹10,000 borrowed from his father.
Two people.
One focused idea.
And what followed?
A global pharmaceutical business.
The lesson?
Sometimes, the biggest opportunities come from questioning the business you already know.
Dilip Shanghvi didn't simply continue selling medicines.
He asked a different question — and built a business around the answer.
What existing business or industry would you approach differently if you had the opportunity?
