Anji Reddy's memoirs released

The memoirs of the late Dr Kallam Anji Reddy, founder of Hyderabad-based pharma major Dr Reddy's Labs, have been released. Titled 'An Unfinished Agenda - My Life in the Pharmaceuticals Industry,' it was unveiled by Dilip S. Shanghvi, founder and managing director of Sun Pharma, on Friday (January 23) night in Hyderabad.

Reflecting on his interactions with Anji Reddy, Shanghvi, who also began his entrepreneurial journey around the time Dr Reddy's began over 30 years ago, said: "A large part of our investment in innovation and in internationalising Sun Pharma's business is because of many of the conversations that I have had with Dr Reddy."

The 270-page book is an anecdotal account of the way Anji Reddy, who many regard as a pioneer in Indian pharma industry, saw his company and the industry evolve. It gives a first-hand account of his views, how he pursued his entrepreneurial journey and overcame the hurdles and focused on science. It also looks at his early days in a Telugu medium school in a village 13 km away from the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh, to the incorporation of Dr Reddy's in 1984 and his interest in science and philanthropy.

Says Raghu Chidambi, his former adviser and someone who knew him well and helped put the book together: "He was a marvellous storyteller. He told his story with gusto and laced it with anecdotes and laughter. He also talked of how he strayed into chemistry and later decided to make a career in the pharmaceutical industry."

The book also includes Anji Reddy's observations on some pharma leaders, including those who worked with him and left, like the founders of Divis Labs and Hetero Drugs, and others like Cipla's Y.K. Hamied and Sun Pharma's Shanghvi. About Shanghvi, Anji Reddy wrote: "Beneath the soft-spoken, unassuming and unflappable exterior lurks the shrewdest brain in the business."