Navinchandra Jamnadas Engineer (born May 1951) is a British billionaire, the owner of Chemidex, a pharmaceutical company that he founded in 1981.

Navin Engineer
Born
Navinchandra Jamnadas Engineer

May 1951
NationalityBritish
Known forFounder and owner, Chemidex
SpouseVarsha Engineer
Children2

Early life

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Navinchandra Jamnadas Engineer was born in May 1951.[1] His father worked for the Kenyan civil service.[2] In 1963, he was sent from Kenya to London to live with his aunt, and later studied at the London School of Pharmacy.[3]

Career

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Engineer's first job on graduation was a pharmacist for the Boots the Chemist chain, which he found "a little bit like the civil service"; one day he was shocked by a visiting area manager asking for a cup of tea when he was busy dispensing prescriptions, and resigned the same day.[4]

Chemidex was founded by Engineer and his wife in 1981, and is based in Egham, Surrey.[5]

In 1981, Chemidex opened its first pharmacy in Chertsey, Surrey. In 1999, he had 14 pharmacies which he sold to the German company Celesio for a reported £12 million.[4][6] Chemidex then became a pharmaceutical company, and it acquired its first brand in 2000.[7]

According to The Sunday Times, the business is valued at £1 billion and Engineer at £1.1 billion.[3]

Engineer also set up the company Essential Generics, a drug manufacturer based in Egham, Surrey.[8] He resigned as a director of the company in 2013.[9]

Personal life

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He is married to Varsha Engineer.[3] They have two children,[6] and both studied medicine.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Chemidex Generics Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Navin Engineer, London, United Kingdom | Kenyan Jewels". Alusainc.wordpress.com. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Sunday Times Rich List". The Sunday Times. No. 33. 26 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "Pharma families". Management Today. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Chemidex Pharma Limited: Private Company Information - Businessweek". Businessweek.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Asian Power Couples Hot 100 - Surnames from D - FAsian Power Couples". Asianpowercouples.com. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Chemidex Pharma - licensing and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals". Chemidex.co.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  8. ^ Reporter, Billy Kenber, Investigations. "Drug firm exploits loophole to raise price from £3 to £87". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 25 August 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Varsha Navinchandra ENGINEER - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2020.