Founder and chairman of Lupin Limited Desh Bandhu Gupta passed away in the morning of June 26, 2017 in Mumbai at the age of 79. Founded by Gupta in 1968, Lupin rose to become the second-largest Indian generics pharmaceutical company by revenue last year.

While being at the helm of affairs, Gupta meticulously ushered in the next generation of leadership in the company by delegating senior job roles to his daughter and son, Vinita Gupta, as CEO, and Nilesh Gupta, as managing director, respectively, bringing in a set of very senior and experienced professional managers to ensure professionalism.

Born in Rajgarh, Rajasthan, Gupta nurtured the vision to fight life-threatening diseases by delivering good quality medicines at an affordable price from his academic days while earning a Master of Science Degree (Chemistry). It was with this objective that he moved to Mumbai and founded Lupin in 1968, the company stated in a message.

Lupin CEO Vinita Gupta and MD Nilesh Gupta said, "We are deeply saddened by the demise of our father early this morning. What DBG (Desh Bandhu Gupta) put in motion 50 years ago in helping to create, innovate, and lead in the pharmaceutical space is an unparallelled legacy. Those who knew and worked with DBG, remember him giving generously and fostering a dynamic environment where people could learn and grow. We will continue to build on his legacy and live by the values he instilled.”

A firm believer in the concept of holistic development, Gupta set up Lupin Human Welfare and Research Foundation in 1988 to eradicate poverty by encouraging sustainable development at the grass root level in rural India. His efforts have led to a positive impact on the lives of 2.8 million families in 3,463 villages across India.

Lupin sells a wide range of branded and generic formulations, biotechnology products, and APIs across more than 100 countries. Lupin was the only Indian pharmaceutical company to have made inroads into Japan considered to be one of the toughest pharmaceutical markets in the world.