Early life and education

He spent his early years in the village Tadepalli, Guntur District in the banks of Krishna River, where his father grew turmeric. He studied in Anapothana ZPHS School in Nutakki from fifth to Tenth Class while living at the house his aunt, a sister of his mother. Reddy after graduating from the local high school, went on to get his first Bachelor of science degree from Andhra Christian College or A.C. College at Guntur in 1958. Thereafter he, did his B.Sc.-Tech in Pharmaceuticals and Fine chemicals from UDCT, Mumbai followed by a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune in 1969

Career

He started his career in the state-owned PSU, Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL) (1969–1975), when he left the job to found Uniloids Ltd in 1976 of which was also the and managing director of till 1980, when he founded Standard Organics Limited, before founding Dr Reddy's Labs in 1984 with an initial capital of Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million). Over the years, it transformed Indian bulk drug industry from import-dependent in mid-80s to self-reliant in mid-90s and finally into the export-oriented industry.

Dr Reddy's Labs

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has been credited with turning the Indian bulk drug industry from dependence on imports in the mid 1980s to self-reliance in the mid 1990s and finally into the export-oriented industry that it is today. It was the first company to take up drug discovery research in India (in 1993). In April 2001 Dr Reddy’s Labs became the first Asian pharmaceutical company outside Japan to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company has revenues of $546 million (Rs.2,427 crore) during the fiscal year 2006 and is India’s second largest pharmaceutical company

Death

He died of liver cancer at 3:45 p.m. on March 15, 2013 at the Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.

Dr.Kallam Anji Reddy,58, is the founder Chairman of Dr. Reddy's Group of Companies and is a pioneer & leader in Bulk Drugs and Pharmaceutical Industry in India. Dr. Reddy has done his B.Sc from Andhra Christian College, Guntur and has completed his B.Sc. (Tech) in Pharmaceutical Science from Bombay University and Ph.D. from National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. Dr. Reddy had six years experience in "Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd." (IDPL) in the manufacture and implementation of new technologies in bulk drugs. After coming out from IDPL in 1973, Dr.Reddy pioneered a number of bulk drugs for the first time in the country. The consumption of many front-line basic drugs has gone up several folds because of the successful indigenous development of technologies by his group of companies. Before starting his own group of companies, Dr. Reddy has pioneered the development and production of Metronidazole (1976 MD-Uniloids) and Sulphamethoxazole (1981 MD-Standard Organics Ltd). In 1984, he set up Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd and Cheminor Drugs Limited. Starting with a modest turnover of Rs.1.5 crore in 1985, the group registered a combined turnover of Rs.984 crore in the year 2000-2001.

His mission is clear as stated in one of his many lectures.' The Patent Act 1970 has enabled the industry to introduce newer and better medicines in the country without going through heavy investments in Research and Development. This opportunity must be utilized by the industry not to make enormous profits for themselves; but to bring these drugs to the masses of India at affordable prices". Dr.Reddy's Research Foundation (DRF), established in 1992, the research arm of Dr.Reddy's Group is the first organization in Indian Pharmaceutical Industry to take up basic research. Since its inception, DRF has filed a total of 61 patents with the USPTO and 42 with the PCT, for its discoveries in Cancer, Diabetes, Ulcer and Bacterial infections. It has been granted 21 patents by the USPTO so far.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has licensed two of its discoveries in the anti-diabetes field for co-development to Novo Nordisk of Denmark, a world leader in diabetic care, in return for an upfront payment, milestone payments and royalties. Dr. Reddy's has recently out-licensed DRF 4158, an insulin sensitiser in type 2 diabetes, in return for up to US $ 55 million in upfront and milestone payments for specific clinical and regulatory endpoints, as well as royalties. Dr. Reddy's also enjoys the distinction of being the first Asia Pacific (non-Japanese) pharmaceutical company to list on NYSE.

These achievements of Dr. Anji Reddy and his group have been recognized by the Government. Dr.Reddy has been a member of Drug Technical Advisory Board and Pharmaceutical Council of India. Dr.Reddy has also served as Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (A.P.I.D.C.). Dr.Reddy had been the President of Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association, 1992. Dr. Reddy is a Member of the Board of Trade. He is the Chairman of FICCI (R&D) Committee. Dr. Reddy was recently nominated as Member of the Task Force on Pharmaceuticals and Knowledge-based industries by the Prime Minister.