Cipla - Chemical, Industrial & Pharmaceutical Laboratories - was founded in Bombay, in 1935 by Dr Khwaja Abdul Hamied, a German-trained chemist. The company's first products were released in 1937. In 1941, as the Second World War cut off drug supplies to the country, Cipla began producing its own fine chemicals. In 1952, the company set up its first research division, and in 1960, Cipla's second plant, at Vikhroli in Bombay, commenced operations. The
company started an Agricultural Research Division at Bangalore in 1972, for the scientific cultivation of medicinal plants, and in 1982, Cipla's fourth factory commenced operations at Patalganga, Maharashtra. The US FDA first approved Cipla's bulk drug facilities in 1985, and in 1994, the company's fifth plant began commercial operations at Kurkumbh, Maharashtra. Cipla's most recent plant is at Goa. The plant commenced operations in April 2003, and is earmarked to produce the company's entire range of anticancer and hormonal drugs.