Indian pharmaceutical companies are developing at a rapid pace and this industry holds the satisfaction of being the second largest flourishing industry in India and this segment is providing a significant amount of revenue toward the economic development of the country. It has been forecasted that by the year 2015, the Indian Pharmaceutical Sector will be the third largest industry worldwide, giving an output of 20 billion US dollars.

More importantly, the Indian Government has many initiatives for the expansion of the pharmaceutical industry like tax breaks, standard clinical procedures and revolutionary techniques for manufacturing drugs. The leading companies in the Indian Pharmaceutical sector are as follows:

• Ranbaxy
• Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
• Cipla
• Sun Pharma Industries
• Lupin Labs
• Aurobindo Pharma
• GlaxoSmithKline Pharma
• Cadila Healthcare
• Aventis Pharma
• IPCA Laboratories

A brief description about these companies is provided below:

Established in 1961, Ranbaxy is a research based pharma organization that was converted to a public limited company in 1973. The company has earned distinction among the top manufacturers that are trusted by medical professionals all around the world.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories is based in India but has manufacturing units in various countries. Subsidiaries that are part of this company are located in Brazil, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. This company is in a league of its own in the pharmaceutical industry due to the following attributes:

• Improvement and continuous learning
• Teamwork and cooperation
• Reverence for individual
• Social responsibility and solidarity
• Superior Quality

Cipla was incorporated in 1935 and the company took flight with an authorized capital of Rs. 6 lakhs. However, the current revenue of the company is Rs. 37.637 billion and they are involved in the production of OTC drugs, prescription drugs and bulk drugs. Several regulatory bodies have approved Cipla and the names of these regulatory bodies are provided below:

• National Institute of Pharmacy, Hungary
• Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention, Germany
• Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia
• Food and Drug Administration, USA
• World Health Organization

Sun Pharmaceuticals also known as Sun Pharma, was incorporated in the year 1983 and during its preliminary phase, the company manufactured five medicinal products targeted for psychiatric patients. The company is currently renowned across the globe as the manufacturer of specialty active pharmaceutical formulations and ingredients. Sun Pharma has group companies in Bangladesh and Michigan. This company is involved in the production of three diverse forms of medicines. They can be injected, orally taken, and delivery based drugs.

Lupin Labs is based in Mumbai and they are serving as a modernized and innovative pharmaceutical company that produces a wide variety of medicines with branded formulations that are inexpensive and of good quality. They have manufacturing units in various regions of India such as Indore, Jammu, Goa, Aurangabad, Mandideep, Tarapur, Ankleshwar and even in Japan.

Aurobindo Pharma came about in 1986 and it commenced operations in 1988 in Pondicherry. Currently, the head office of the company is based in Hyderabad. It is one of the better API manufacturing companies in India and they deal with all different kinds of medicine manufacturing like gastro-enterologicals, central nervous system medication, medicines for cardio vascular diseases, anti-infective, anti-allergic and Antibiotics.

Glaxosmithkline, famously known as GSK are prominent competitors not only in the pharmaceutical industry in India, but also in the biotechnology industry. The company was incorporated in 1924 with the purpose of refining the quality of life of people by providing lifesaving drugs. They currently manufacture prescription medicines for various ailments like diabetics, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory disorders, etc.

Cadila Healthcare Limited came into operation in 1995 under the sponsorship of Zydus Group. They don't just have operations in India, but also in different regions of the world such as Brazil, France, the US and the company is exporting its branded products to more than 43 countries all around the world. They are involved in the manufacturing of the following classifications of drugs:

• Skin Care
• Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
• Animal health care
• Formulations
• Diagnostics

Aventis Pharma was created after the merger of two pharmaceutical companies which are Aventis and Sanofi. Aventis Pharma's parent company is Sanofi Aventis and it has presence in more than 95 countries all around the world. They are known for their state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. The company is currently engaged in the manufacturing of the following types of medicines:

• Vaccines
• Bone & Joint
• Anti-infective
• Analgesics
• Dermatology
• Central nervous system
• Respiratory system
• Oncology
• Metabolic
• Cardiovascular diseases

IPCA Laboratories was incorporated in the year 1949 and it was basically founded by a group of medical professionals and entrepreneurs. The prevailing management took charge of the company in 1975 and their primary objectives include manufacturing and marketing of drugs and other pharmaceutical products. Their areas of expertise are drug intermediates, active pharmaceutical ingredients and formulations.