Dr Lal PathLabs


Dr. Lal PathLabs Limited is an international service provider of diagnostic and related healthcare tests. Based in Delhi, the company offers a broad range of tests on blood, urine and other human body viscera.

History

Dr. Lal PathLabs was started in 1949, by the late Dr. S. K. Lal. The first laboratory was set up by Dr. S.K Lal in Delhi, India. Dr. Lal was a Junior Doctor in the British Indian Army and studied pathology from the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, with additional training in pathology at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. The main operation of Dr. Lal Path Labs deals with the performing of diagnosis and testing, including routine tests, specialized tests and preventive screenings.
In 2013, Dr. Lal PathLabs was awarded Best Diagnostic Service Company by VCCircle. VCCircle stated: "Dr Lal Path Labs has been able to create a brand with scale in a fragmented market. Dr Lal Path Labs is present in 800 cities with 2,000 collections centres, and caters to around 10 million patients a year."
In 2014, Dr. Lal PathLabs acquired the APL Clinical Institute of Clinical Laboratory & Research Private Limited.

Controversies

Zika outbreak

While Zika has not been reported in India, on 3 February 2016, Dr. Lal PathLabs and other competing pathology labs announced they were preparing Zika test kits. Dr. Lal PathLabs reported they plan to sell their kits for Rs 4500. However, several days later IndiaToday reported: "the Union Ministry of Health pulled up private players, saying they cannot cash in on a public health emergency" and also reported that Dr. Vandana Lal stated: "We don't want to talk on this matter. We don't have any tests for Zika virus and we are also not importing any test kits for the same. If at all we plan to do something, we will take the government's prior permission."

Infrastructure

The company has 170 laboratories and diagnostic centres with approximately 1500 collection centres across India. They have also worked with BD India to open a "Centre of Excellence in Phlebotomy", a centre for training healthcare in the process of safely collecting blood samples.

Laboratory Accreditations

The Economic Times reported "... Dr Lal PathLabs on Wednesday made stellar debut on the bourses, by listing at a premium of up to 31 per cent on the BSE". Dr Lal PathLabs became the first company in this industry that came up with an IPO. Dr Lal PathLabs revenue grew from Rs 45 crore in 2005 to Rs 100 crore in 2007 and Rs 550 crore in March 2014, its valuation is expected to be Rs 12,000 crore by 2019–20.

Company officers