Dr. Kartar is also a philanthropist, scholar and historian, serving as an honorary professor at the University of Franche-Comté. Lalvani has written a book about the colonial history of India.
Dr. Kartar’s father was the owner of pharmacies in Karachi. His family moved to Bombay after partition, where he was raised and educated. He was one of nine brothers and sisters. He first came to London in 1956 to study pharmacy and went on to complete his doctorate from the University of Bonn. His family subsequently migrated to London during the 1960s.
Dr. Kartar founded Vitabiotics pharmaceutical company in London in 1971. It was the UK’s only specialist vitamin supplement company. Today, the company produces a range of well-known brands, including Wellwoman and Omega-H3, which treat everything from mouth ulcers to menopause. The global Vitabiotics Group is currently run by Dr. Kartar Lalvani’s son Tej.
Dr. Kartar is also a philanthropist, scholar and historian, serving as an honorary professor at the University of Franche-Comté. Lalvani has written a book about the colonial history of India.
Dr. Kartar Lalvani’s outstanding work was rewarded by France also with the title of honorary Professorship from a leading French University and center for dermatologic research on 22 September, 2014. The unique results of the French clinical trial of Dr. Lalvani’s invention, Perfectil had been established as the first beauty tablet in the world to have shown such remarkable results.
This was only the second time in the history of this renowned university that an honorary professorship had been awarded to a British scientist. It was also the first time ever that such an award has been given to a British scientist in the field of dermatology, for which the 900 year old hospital at Besancon is a global center of excellence.
Dr. Kartar Lalvani’s Vitabiotics markets 15 regulatory-approved products in over 80 countries globally and employs 1700 people world-wide, with factories and offices in 6 countries. It is probably the first British vitamin company to have its products successfully sold and now growing in the major USA multiple retailers.
Personal Awards
B.T. Sponsored Award for Asian Entrepreneur of the year 2002.
Asian Achiever’s Award for Trade & Industry 2003
Asian of the Year’ by Asian Who’s Who 2004
GSK Asian Innovation of the year Award 2004.
Distinction in the Field of Science 2005 from ‘The India International Foundation’ U.K
DTI Science Award for Innovation in HIV treatment 2005.
Pride of India Gold Award for Enterprise 2006
Award for Community Service from ‘The High Sheriff of Greater London’ 2007
Corporate Awards won by Vitabiotics Ltd.
2000: DTI Export Award for outstanding achievement in export.
2001: Vision 100 Index Award for being one of the UK’s 100 Most Visionary Companies.
2003: Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade.
2008: Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade.
Scientific Milestones
As a scientist of distinction Dr. Lalvani’s innovative spirit shows no signs of slowing as he gets older.
DTI innovation award in 2004 for his pioneering work on Human Immune system with excellent survival results in the treatment of HIV patients in a major placebo controlled clinical trial on his Immunace conducted by the London school of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and published in The Official International Journal of AIDs.
Dr. Lalvani has also received recognition for his important work in the area of nutrition and eye health. A clinical trial by the Dept. of Vision Sciences at Glasgow University, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition and presented at the American Academy Of Optometry, demonstrated for the first time in 2000 that a specific nutrient formula by Lalvani helped with the common conditions of dry eye and age related macular degeneration.
14 clinical studies on menopause symptoms internationally have consistently shown very significant results with Lalvani’s micronutrient formula Menopace, introduced in 1992, is today Britain’s best-selling product for menopause.
The London Metropolitan University recently completed randomized controlled clinical trial of Pregnacare for socio-economically deprived pregnant mothers in London showed improved birth outcomes. His Pregnacare is the first pregnancy supplement incorporating specific nutrients vital for healthy and safe outcome of pregnancy. Today Pregnacare is Britain’s best-selling prenatal nutrient tablet.
Vitabiotics was the first company to introduce magnesium in the calcium formula Osteocare in 1989. Osteocare stands as Britain’s best-selling calcium formula for bone health.
In 2007 the Integrative Medicine Insights Journal published the results of the benefit of his Diabetone vitamin capsules in the general wellbeing of type 11 diabetic patients.
Hobbies and activities
Dr. Lalvani’s long-standing keen interest in history has since 2003 stimulated him to research and author a unique book featuring for the first time, the lesser-known other side of the last 100 years of Britain’s two centuries of colonial rule in India. This book narrates the great industrial, civil and social reforms with educational and welfare progress besides the all-important massive industrial and administrative infrastructure provided in the 19th and 20th century India, with much of the early hardware having been transported from 12,000 sailing miles away via the Cape of Good Hope. In the year 1947, Britain left behind, the world’s largest and sustainable democracy, with some great institutions like a unified world class Indian army besides an excellent Indian civil service with impeccable judiciary, Parliament and the legacy of good governance. This factual and illustrated account in 400 pages, with 22 chapters, titled The Making of India is due for publication in the second half of 2008.
Support for charities
Dr. Lalvani, through his Osteocare brand, is a keen supporter of The National Osteoporosis Society (NOS). As the leading charity for bone health in the UK, the NOS offers support to people with osteoporosis and has been instrumental in bringing the condition to public and medical prominence. Vitabiotics has supported the NOS with a donation for every box of Osteocare sold.
Dr. Lalvani has been a personal supporter of WellBeing for over decade, assisting with fundraising through donations, major events and public awareness campaigns. WellBeing, which pioneered medical research into reducing maternal deaths in the 1960s, uniquely works with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and is dedicated to solving health problems of women.
Dr. Lalvani has been involved in an ongoing major support initiative to promote the activities of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), a leading UK charity in maternal care.
Dr. Lalvani joined British Heart Foundation as Heart Pioneer, with special interest in their research into heart disease in children, a matter of growing concern today.
Dr. Lalvani supports Britain’s leading TB charity for efforts to combat TB and create awareness among Asian communities; where the disease is prevalent in about 80% of the national average.
Dr. Lalvani is an active member of the Kidney Research UK and has sponsored several National awareness campaigns amongst South Asian communities in the UK, highlighting that the prevalence of diabetes amongst Asians is five times greater than the national average and, staggeringly, ten times higher for the kidney disease.
Art & Community
Dr. Lalvani is an art collector and a patron and member of the Director’s Circle at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Through Vitabiotics, Lalvani supports many arts events and foundations such as local community theatre ‘Opera for All’. He has also supported the Ballet Theater of Harlem in New York City.
Dr. Lalvani is one of the founder patrons of Asia House at New Cavendish Street and has helped sponsor some events.
He has always taken a keen interest in social issues and together with Ford Foundation has sponsored the British Council’s Oxford Seminars in Corpus Christi College on Tackling Corruption Worldwide.
He has also recently become a partner of the Metropolitan Police Service’s project, Operation Quadrant, which is looking at ways to tackle serious and organized crime within the South Asian Community in the UK.
He has supported a new eye hospital for the poor in Lagos and the KVOWRC Foundation in Nairobi for a rehabilitation center for young, orphan girls.
He has assisted the Beacon Fellowship for the 3rd year in 2005 by funding the advertising campaign in Asian Media to boost its awareness for the fellowship among Asians.
Dr. Lalvani has supported regeneration initiatives like BOOST, by not only investing in the purchase of bonds, but also in sponsoring events to mobilize support from the Asian business community in Tower Hamlets.
Education related causes
Dr. Lalvani has actively supported the National Literacy Trust for several years and the Commonwealth Education Fund. He has also committed himself since the last 14 years to the Duke of Edinburgh Award World Fellowship developing young people with like skills internationally. Vitabiotics sponsor the School of Integrated Medicine at Westminster University including the annual lecture as well as prizes for the Nutritional therapy course, funding for their staff attendance at international conferences and sponsorship of Polyclinic seminars.
Individual Causes
Dr. Lalvani’s commitment to social justice across all ethnic divides was demonstrated by his underwriting the costs for the aerial search for young Joel Kitchen, a British citizen who was lost while paragliding in North India. After reading about the family plight, Lalvani paid for his parents return flight to India and funded a private aerial search in the Himalayas. The news about this spontaneous initiative helped to stimulate Indian participation in the mountain search.
Bonds with Sindhiyat
In an interview with Ram Jawhrani, chairman of Sahyog Foundation, conducted on the Sahyadri Channel of Doordarshan program ‘SINDHI SARVECH’, Dr. Kartar said, “My grandfather was a railway employee, while my dad had a chemist shop. It was named J. Tirath & Co., and was established in 1920. When our business grew large, we began manufacturing medicines in 1935. I studied in Model High School, Karachi and after Partition, when we came to Bombay, I completed my matriculation from Sindhi Premier High School and later on, I joined Jai Hind College, Bombay.”
“I can very well read and write Arabic-Sindhi”, he said on a question.
About the impact of partition on his family, he said, “We were certainly impacted, but not up to that extent. We had to leave all our business and assets behind. The Sikhs were faced with a greater threat, as the Muslims who migrated from the undivided Punjab considered Sikhs their prime targets.”
“Sindhis were housed in old military barracks of Ulhasnagar, meant for lower class army personnel. I saw for myself the depressing condition of Sindhis. The most educated and civilized community was struggling for survival. At that time the literacy rate of Sindhis was 95% compared to the average literacy rate of 25% in India. We were the real sufferers. Completely uprooted,” he recalled.
“I was the first Indian to manufacture medicines in the United Kingdom in 1965. We spread our business outside England too and opened another factory in Nigeria in 1970. This process of expansion brought us back to Bombay, where we established a factory in 1980,” he told.
Watch Interview of Dr. Kartar Lalvani
“We manufacture medicines which are also manufactured by many others. But we were the first to introduce a sugar-free cough syrup in India which even diabetic patients could partake. We also introduced a sugar-free antacid, which earlier contained aluminum compounds, a harmful constituent which harmed the brain as well-effected libido. We also make various vitamin preparations, to improve general health and keep ailments at bay. I manufacture fifteen medicines in the UK, six of which are already number one in that country.”
Dr. Kartar told his company also produced a medicine that can slow down the ill-effects of AIDS and improves the health of the patient, so that the body can fight back. An amount of 160 million was spent on trials, which was borne by Nestle Foundation.
“Sindhi are very charitable. Even the establishment of Ravindra Nath Tagore’s Shanti Niketan, was due to many Sindhis although Sindhis were a minority community and small in number. Even Netaji Subhash Chander Bose was helped by the Sindhis of Singapore, Hong Kong and Afghanistan, morally, as well as financially” he said on a query.
On a personal question about the nature of relations between Princess Diana and his brother Gulu Lalwani, Dr. Kartar said, “They were very good friends for one and half year. She was involved with Dodi Al Fayed, an Egyptian, only for 6 weeks prior to her demise. Earlier she used to visit Gulu’s home and was very friendly with his children, a fact which was even reported in the English newspapers.”
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Courtesy: Sindhi Shan, Asian Voice, Wikipedia, BBC
