Parvinder Singh: The pharma visionary whose legacy lies in tatters

Unlike first-generation entrepreneurs, Parvinder inherited Ranbaxy—a modest pharma business his father, Bhai Mohan Singh, had acquired from its founders, Ranbir Singh and Gurbax Singh. A wealthy contractor who migrated to Delhi from Rawalpindi during Partition, Bhai Mohan Singh laid the company’s foundations.

Read this | Fortune and fraud: The spectacular life and death of biscuit king Rajan Pillai

By the time Parvinder returned to India in 1967 after completing his studies in the US, Ranbaxy was a medium-sized domestic pharma player. But Parvinder’s vision extended beyond its modest scale and India’s borders.

Armed with a master’s degree in pharmacy from Washington State University and a doctorate from the University of Michigan, Parvinder recognized the opportunity in generics early on. His ambition to turn Ranbaxy into a global pharmaceutical leader drove his relentless pursuit of growth.

Transforming Ranbaxy

Parvinder’s relationship with his father was often strained, culminating in a boardroom battle in which he ousted Bhai Mohan Singh to take full control by 1993. Later, he also navigated disputes with his brothers, Analjit Singh and Bhai Manjit Singh, as the family business was divided.

By 1987-88, under Parvinder, Delhi-based Ranbaxy had begun exporting active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to the US. Profit margins were slim, and Parvinder recognized the need to pivot swiftly to the higher-margin generics market. After overcoming initial challenges, the company identified a lucrative opportunity in cefaclor, a cephalosporin antibiotic with global sales of $1.4 billion. The drug’s patent, held by Eli Lilly, was nearing expiration, but process patents still posed a hurdle for new entrants.

In 1991, Ranbaxy had successfully developed a novel manufacturing process for cefaclor, enabling it to produce a generic version for the US market. Parvinder set up a dedicated plant for cefaclor, seizing a highly profitable opportunity. Over the next five years, Ranbaxy partnered with Eli Lilly to market generics globally while distributing the American company’s products in India.

Though the partnership ended when Eli Lilly aligned with US generics maker Mylan, Ranbaxy had already solidified its foothold in the US market. Under Parvinder’s leadership, the company’s sales and profits surged, setting the stage for its emergence as a global pharmaceutical powerhouse.

Despite being socially reserved, Parvinder emerged as a key advocate for the Indian pharmaceutical industry. In 1998, he was appointed to the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee, where he championed reforms to ease rules on employee stock option plans and pushed for more liberal policies to support fledgling Indian multinationals like Ranbaxy as they expanded operations overseas.

A dynasty undone

Tragically, in July 1999, just as India’s pharmaceutical sector was poised for transformative growth, Parvinder succumbed to cancer at the age of 56. Anticipating his premature departure, he had implemented a succession plan that placed Devinder Singh Brar, a professional manager, in charge of the company instead of his two young sons.

The decision was met with resistance from his family, including his father, as they held a 35% stake in Ranbaxy. In keeping with the tradition of Indian business families, it was expected that the sons, regardless of their readiness, would succeed their father. However, for Parvinder, professional management was a cornerstone of his philosophy—a conviction shaped by the influence of global thinkers like C.K. Prahalad.

His unwavering belief in meritocracy underscored his vision for Ranbaxy’s future, even if it went against convention.

Within five years of Parvinder’s death, Brar exited the company, paving the way for Malvinder Mohan Singh, Parvinder’s elder son, to join the board and assume the role of second-in-command. His younger brother Shivinder soon followed, and together, the two brothers mismanaged the business.

By 2008, they had sold their stake in Ranbaxy to Japanese pharmaceutical giant Daiichi Sankyo for $4.6 billion. However, just six months later, Daiichi wrote off the entire investment after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned several Ranbaxy drugs due to serious manufacturing deficiencies discovered in its Indian plants.

Read this | Ranbaxy case: Singh brothers diverted funds despite SC order, says Daiichi Sankyo

Whether Ranbaxy’s subsequent troubles—run-ins with the FDA and allegations of financial irregularities—could have been avoided under Parvinder’s leadership remains a matter of debate.

Insiders note that some of the issues highlighted in Katherine Eban’s Bottle of Lies—and first reported in her Fortune magazine piece—had roots in his tenure. However, such criticism may be harsh, given Parvinder’s relentless pursuit of quality and excellence, as evidenced by the four state-of-the-art plants that Sun Pharma eventually acquired in 2013.

Read this | How Ranbaxy hurtled towards a meltdown

Tough, uncompromising, and relentless in his mission to elevate Ranbaxy to the pinnacle of India’s pharmaceutical industry, Parvinder also possessed a spiritual and compassionate side that was not immediately apparent. A photographer friend once shared an anecdote from a shoot at Parvinder's farmhouse. When the friend accidentally broke what appeared to be an expensive vase, Parvinder brushed off the apologies, saying, “You are more important than any vase in the world."

Today, the Ranbaxy name is synonymous with fraud and failure—a poignant epitaph for a man whose global vision laid the foundation for one of India’s most successful industries.