Indian Billionaire Pharma Brothers Get Boost From Their Go-To Pandemic Drug

This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of India’s Richest 2022. See the full list here.

Dilip and Anand Surana, the brothers who own generic drugs maker Micro Labs, saw their wealth rise 44% to $3.25 billion as sales surged at the privately held company. Its paracetamol brand Dolo-650 became the go-to drug for Indians during the pandemic, boosting net profit to 11.7 billion rupees ($144 million) on revenue of 43 billion rupees in the year ended in March 2021, the latest earnings available.

Dolo-650’s popularity rose after the government recommended a 650mg dose of paracetamol to help relieve Covid-19 symptoms—it became the most-prescribed drug with 58% market share at the height of the pandemic last year. Other pressure points, however, have emerged. In July, India’s tax authority searched 36 premises of the Bangalore-based company, claiming it gave freebies worth 10 billion rupees to doctors to push drug sales. When reached for comment, Jayaraj Govindaraju, executive vice president of marketing, confirmed the tax raids but denied the allegations, adding the amount reflected total marketing costs over a five-year period. The investigation is pending. Dolo-650 competes in India with the likes of Crocin and Calpol tablets from global pharma giant GSK.

Micro Labs’ drugs portfolio includes cardiology, pain management and skin treatments. The group exports to over 50 countries, and is adding a $65 million factory near Bangalore for pharma ingredients to its other 14 manufacturing sites. The Suranas’ late father, G.C. Surana, a former pharma distributor, founded the company nearly five decades ago in Chennai.