A young boy who once failed in class 12 and the first year of his BPharm degree went on to become the wealthiest man in Hyderabad. This tale of success is a testament to the power of dedication and perseverance in the face of adversity. Dr Murali Divi, the founder of Divi’s Laboratories, not only failed his class 12 examination but also struggled to pass his first year BPharm exam. Despite experiencing setbacks, he persevered and excelled in his BPharm studies, graduating with distinction. Subsequently, he pursued his MPharm degree and began his professional journey as a trainee at Warner Hindustan in 1975.

Dr Divi's success

Dr Divi was born in a humble family in the quaint town of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. In the beginning of his career when Dr Divi joined Warner Hindustan, he seized an opportunity to work with Uniloids. This was a venture of Dr. Kallam Anji Reddy who had left Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd to pursue a career in entrepreneurship. Dreaming big, Dr Divi took a risk and decided to move to the US with just USD 7 in his pocket. In those days, that was the maximum amount of foreign exchange permitted for travel abroad.

Business ventures

Due to a family emergency, Dr Divi returned to Hyderabad in the year 1983. By now, he had gained significant experience in pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. Dr. Anji Reddy was serving as the General Manager of Research and Development (R&D).  Dr Divi established a collaborative venture with him. 

In the year 1984, the two acquired Cheminor Drugs, an API manufacturer which was struggling at the time. During the same year, Dr Reddy’s Labs was established. Dr Divi served as the co-promoter and Managing Director and played a pivotal role in steering Cheminor to success.

Divi's Laboratories

Under his leadership, Cheminor became the first API unit in India to receive USFDA approval for the pain drug Ibuprofen and antacid Ranitidine. Later, in 1990, Dr Divi decided to embark on his own journey and founded Divi's Research Centre Pvt Ltd. In 1994, he made a significant investment to establish a greenfield API plant in Nalgonda. This plant was later renamed Divi's Laboratories. He borrowed Rs 35 crore from IDBI in 1995 and paid it back in nearly five years. The company stopped working capital borrowings in 2010. 

API manufacturer

Today, Divi's Labs stands among the top three API manufacturers worldwide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his wealth surged to approximately Rs 75,000 crore in October 2021. During this time, the company’s stocks reached an all-time high of Rs 5,425 per share. This surge was driven by the rising demand for the antiviral drug Molnupiravir.

The Divi family maintains a significant ownership stake in the company, holding nearly 52% of the shares. Divi's Labs made its debut on the stock market in 2003 through an initial public offering (IPO) valued at Rs 45 crore, with shares offered for sale at Rs 140 each.

The secret to success

Dr Divi made a conscious decision to avoid legal disputes with big pharma. Divi’s Labs strictly adheres to patent laws and refrain from competing with the generic customers. According to Kiran S Divi, CEO and whole-time director at Divi's Labs, they collaborate with eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies globally. Nilima S Divi, whole-time director (commercial) at the company, shares that Divi’s Labs is a debt-free company with approximately Rs 4,000 crore in cash reserves. The recent projects of Divi’s Labs focus on peptides, particularly GLP-1 (glutides), with an aim of addressing obesity.

Dr Murali Divi's vision

In the year 2017, US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) issued an import alert on Divi's Laboratories' manufacturing unit in Visakhapatnam. Later, the USFDA provided waivers and lifted the import alert within a mere six months, one of the shortest durations for any company. This was a significant turning point for the company’s success.