Meet Murali Divi, The Scientist Who Runs Rs 1.3 lk cr Company; Know His Journey & Net Worth

The road to success and fame isn’t always an easy one and stories of some billionaire businessmen prove this quite often. The milestones they have achieved in their lives with their sheer dedication and hard work inspire millions around the world. One such exemplary story narrates how an Indian businessman embarked on a journey from being a regular pharmacist to the founder of one of the leading drug research firms. We are talking about Murali Divi, who is the founder of generics maker Divi’s Laboratories.

Not many people know that Mr Divi comes from a very humble background. Murali Divi was raised in a small town in Andhra Pradesh. There was a time when his father, a government employee, looked after the family of 14 members on a monthly pension of Rs 10,000.

Murali Divi did his graduation from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. That marked a crucial point in his life as he found his calling at the college.

After completing his studies in India in 1976, Divi decided to move to the US and started his career as a pharmacist. In the US, he worked with several companies and achieved tremendous success as he was earning around $65,000 (around Rs 53 lakh) a year.

However, he soon decided to return to India and joined an emerging pharmaceutical company, Dr Reddy’s Labs, in 1984. Murali Divi worked there for 6 years before he decided to launch his own drug research firm, Divi’s Laboratories, in 1990.

Divi’s Laboratories initially developed commercial processes for the manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and intermediates. In 1995, Divi’s Labs built its first Manufacturing facility at Telangana’s Choutuppal. The firm’s second manufacturing utility was set up near Visakhapatnam in 2002.

Divi’s Labs is now one of the top suppliers of active pharmaceutical ingredients around the globe and has a market capitalisation of nearly Rs 1.3 lakh crore.

The firm, which is based in Hyderabad, also does custom manufacturing for big pharma companies and produces nutraceuticals. The firm has benefitted from the expanding demand for medicines in developed and developing countries. Divi’s Labs chose a different business model at a time when most of the Indian pharmaceutical industry was focused towards selling generics in regulated markets.

Murali Divi’s firm gets nearly 90% of its annual revenue of $1.1 billion (around Rs 903 crore) from exports, as per reports.

According to Forbes, Murali Divi is one of the richest scientists in the world with an estimated net worth of $5.8 billion. The success of Divi’s Labs has proved that if you work hard towards your goals, you will eventually taste success.