A Chennai-based pharma company invented the first Indian drug to get US FDA approval.
In 1992, K Raghavendra Rao started Orchid Pharma with ₹12 Cr. The plan was to manufacture and export antibiotics.
The company did ₹43 Cr.
By year three, it hit ₹192 Cr.
Within a decade, they were exporting to 75+ countries.
But Rao didn’t want to stay a manufacturer forever. He pushed the company into drug discovery, specifically targeting antibiotic-resistant infections, a crisis responsible for 1.27 million deaths in 2019.
His team in Chennai invented Enmetazobactam, a novel penicillanic acid sulfone-based beta-lactamase inhibitor. It targets multi-drug resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria.
Not a copy. Not a generic version. A completely new drug.
2013 – Licensed the molecule to a European company for global trials.
2017 – Financial trouble. The company entered insolvency.
2020 – Dhanuka Group acquired Orchid. Turned it profitable and debt-free.
2024 – The drug got both Indian and US FDA approval. Clinical trials showed 79.1% success rate vs 58.9% for the previous best option.
First-ever drug invented in India to clear the US FDA!
2025 – Orchid bought back 100% global rights. Full ownership back in Indian hands.
FY25 revenue: ₹922 Cr. The drug is expected to generate $1 billion over the next decade.
India has always been the world’s pharmacy for generics. Orchid proved we can invent too.