Catalyst of Change

Since founding Laurus Labs in 2005, CEO Satyanarayana Chava has overseen a series of transformations that has helped the firm become an integrated pharma company

- Neetu Chandra Sharma

LAURUS LABS, once a leading manufacturer of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, is undergoing yet another transformation under Satyanarayana Chava, its Founder & CEO. Until 2011, ARVS-a group of medication used to manage and treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection-accounted for a substantial portion of the company's revenue. Then it made a strategic shift towards becoming an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API)-focussed company.

Subsequently, the company forayed into the formulations business in 2014, which helped it become an integrated pharma company by 2020. As a result of that shift, the ARV API contributes only 25% of revenues now, while the contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) segment has seen significant growth.

The success of these shifts is evident in the numbers. Over the past five years, Laurus Labs, which was founded in 2005, has seen a significant growth in revenues, rising from ₹2,292 crore in FY19 to ₹6,041 crore in FY23, an increase of 164% over the period. However, there has been a slight dip in revenues in the first nine months of FY24, settling at ₹3,601 crore.

Further, Laurus Labs's biotechnology business represents a strategic diversification into a high-growth sector with significant potential for development. The biotech business is relatively new, launched in 2021 through the acquisition of Richcore Life Sciences, a pioneer in microbial fermentation technology.