Pharmaceuticals has become a “roaring trade”, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, writes Brian Collett

Dr Philip Beresford, who has compiled the annual record of Britain’s richest for 27 years, goes further and calls pharmaceuticals “the hottest sector of the whole economy”. Those who own and run the companies are rubbing their hands with glee, he says.

And perhaps the most vigorous hand- rubbing is being practised by Navin Engineer and his wife Varsha, who have now entered the billionaire category. They started with 14 pharmacies and sold them for £12m. They now own Chemidex Pharma in Surrey, valued at £1bn.

Auden Mckenzie was typical of the smaller companies that profit from the booming corporates

As a result, their own wealth is calculated at £1.1bn, up by £290m in a year, putting them at 93rd in the list.

Brothers Bhiku (right) and Vijay Patel are worth £610m

Brothers Bhikhu and Vijay Patel have built their fortune by being serial pharmaceuticals entrepreneurs, says Beresford. They received £370m for part of their distribution and marketing company Waymade, and pocketed £367m for their second business Amdipharm while retaining a £90m stake. Their personal wealth is put at £610m, up £85m in the year. They occupy 183rd place.

Billionaire pharmacist Navin Engineer, 93rd in the Rich List

 

Speculation pays off

Andrew and Linda Leaver, 637th in the list, have speculated this year to boost their wealth. Their company Clinigen, which supplies medicines for clinical trials, acquired its rival Idis for £225m this year. It now claims to lead in supplying unlicensed medicines to doctors and hospitals in more than 100 countries. The Leavers’ £150m fortune is down by £9m but the company is growing fast.

Generic success

Soaring values in the prospering generics market have brought huge benefits to Amit Patel and his sister Meeta. The Patels founded Auden McKenzie (Pharma Division), watched it flourish and sold it this year for £306m to the global pharmaceuticals company Actavis. They are now worth £435m, all of £75m more than last year, and stand in 252nd place.

Auden McKenzie was typical of the smaller companies that profit from the booming corporates. These enterprises are commissioned by the big groups to do their drug research quickly and cheaply and without bureaucratic hassle. Much of the work deals with niche compounds that “the big boys are not interested in”, says Beresford.

Richest of the rich

Once again, the greatest UK wealth gained from pharmaceuticals is recorded for Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli.

Staffordshire-born Kirsty, a former Miss UK, shares £9.45bn with her husband, part of whose fortune was earned from selling Serono, the Swiss pharmaceuticals group, to Merck in 2006.

The couple, pursuing other interests today, are £300m down since last year and are in sixth position. On the world scene, the Oeri-Hoffmann family, owners of Roche, are listed as being worth £18.4bn, and Dilip Shanghvi, founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals in India, is said to have a £15.2bn fortune.

The richest of the rest

Others listed include: Dennis and Mireille Giddings, Quintiles, £792m (£720m last year), 138th; John Shaw and Kiran Mazumdar- Shaw, Blocon, £790m (new listing), 139th; Henri Beaufour, Ipsen, £745m (new listing), 149th; Tony Tabatznik and family, Arrow Generics, £500m (unchanged), 217th; Bruce Craig, Marken, £300m (unchanged), 340th; Robert and Patrick Wilson, Nelsons, £225m (£195m), 425th; Barrie Haigh, Innovex, £200m (unchanged), 476th; Derek Coates, Healthspan, £190m (£180m), 517th; John King, Galen, £190m (£180m), 517th; Jonathan Thornton, Thornton & Ross, £150m (unchanged), 637th; David Pyott, Allergan, £150m (new listing), 637th; Anwar and Yakub Patel, Cohens pharmacies, £135m (unchanged), 707th; Oliver Cookson, GoNutrition, £110m (new listing), 856th; Dallas Burston, Dallas Burston Ashbourne, £105m (£90m), 901st; Doreen Lofthouse, Fisherman’s Friend, £105m (£95m), 901st; Kirit Patel, Day Lewis pharmacies, £105m (£90m), 901st; Peter FitzGerald, Randox Laboratories, £103m (new listing), 924th; Dennis Pay, Paydens pharmacies, £102m (£87m), 935th; Donald Munro, Munro Group, £101m (new listing), 959th;

Seamus Mulligan, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, £313m (unchanged), 29th in the Irish section; John Climax, Icon, £125m (£105m), Irish 68th; Ronan Lambe, £66m (£65m), Irish 143rd; Austin Baird, Bairds Chemists, £65m (unchanged), Irish 146th; Michael Costello, Pinewood Laboratories, £64m (unchanged), Irish 152nd; Geoffrey Elliott, Warner Chilcott, £52m (unchanged), Irish 185th.