Parvinder Singh: The pharma visionary whose legacy lies in tatters

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Before his sons dismantled the company he had meticulously built, tarnishing the reputation of a proud business dynasty, Parvinder “Pammi" Singh was regarded as a legend in Indian business. 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. 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.