Dr Guna S. Muppuri was born (July 30, 1969) and brought up in the southern Indian town of Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. He graduated with MBBS from Sri Venkateswara Medical College, Tirupati, and later interned from the University Hospital of the West Indies in 1992. He worked as a family physician in the public and private sectors of Jamaica for more than 20 years, mostly in the parishes of Hanover and St James. In 2005, ventured into the generic pharmaceutical business becoming principal founder and CEO of Indies Pharma Jamaica Limited.

As a medical practitioner, he was faced with the harsh reality of the difficulties surrounding the average Jamaican’s ability to afford prescription medications. Making medicines available and affordable became his prime concern.

After 13 years of practice and at the age of 35, Indies Pharma Jamaica Limited was launched in 2005 thus beginning Dr Guna’s long and fruitful association with the field of pharmaceutical business.

First initiative taken as CEO of Indies Pharma Jamaica Limited was to bring down the monthly cost of Clopidogrel – the prophylactic medication for stroke disorder (registered as the leading cause of deaths in Jamaica since 1999). The target was to make the cost for a month’s supply come down to J$1,500 versus the cost of the branded drug at J$8,250. Dr Guna’s aim was to provide an uninterrupted supply of this medication to Jamaicans through the National Health Fund at a low cost. The same drug was made available under the National Health Fund benefits for J$125 for a month’s supply, down from J$1,500 per month for the branded formulation.

Second important initiative taken by him was in 2007 to free the people of unjustified patent standoff involving Amlodipine, medication for severe hypertension. Once the drug was free of the patent, it was supplied by Indies Pharma through the National Health Fund at a very low cost.

Bioprist Group is a fully-owned family enterprise with almost 80 per cent of Indies Pharma Jamaica Ltd and 100 per cent of the several subsidiaries under the Bioprist Group.

The company has established itself as a leader in the field of branded generic pharmaceuticals and is currently listed on the Junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

Till date, Clopidogrel is being supplied to the National Health Fund, benefiting every needy citizen of the nation. Indies Pharma provides solutions for 27 disease segments by offering its generic therapeutic agents at subsidized prices through the National Health Fund.

In 2015, Dr Guna ventured into the BPO (business process outsourcing) field leading to the establishment of Bioprist Knowledge Parks based on the motto Empowering the Economies. This project is being pursued in several phases and is responsible for creating 1,400 jobs in the BPO industry. He later acquired the multi-million dollar former Jockey International Industrial complexes in Hanover and St James and transformed them into world-class BPO facilities.

Dr Guna has given back to the society what he has received from it with the belief that developing communities is more than providing employment. In 2015 he developed a summer exchange program for Jamaican children and the United States medical universities thereby providing exposure to Jamaican children to global developments in healthcare education.

Other initiatives taken in 2020 include:

*Pledge of two acres of land at Grand Ridge Med City in Montego Bay for setting up an autism clinic, a school for physically challenged children and an orphanage.

*Donating towards a 30-bed spinal care center at Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre in Mona, Kingston.

*Distribution of asthma inhalers among the general public.

*Donation to the National Health Fund.

*Scholarships to 18 medical and pharmacy students.

*Donations to the Hope Clinic-Good Shepherd Foundation.

The following year, a Summer Science Knowledge Donation Camp was initiated in Jamaica in collaboration with CORD (Community Out-Reach Development), University of Alabama, at Birmingham Center, USA. About 170 children participated in this program which will continue to be carried on in the future. Under this initiative, children in Jamaica were taken from rural schools and inner-city communities to the CORD camp and got to experience First World knowledge-based camp.  

The ambitions and trajectory of the Bioprist Group under Dr Guna have led to him being christened “The Repurposing Specialist”. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards which include the following:

• Excellence Award by Trinidadian Ansamcal Caribbean Foundation; awarded by Sir Patrick Allen, Governor General of Jamaica; award included a gift of TT$500K (J$12Mil)  (year? Not mentioned in info provided) (image: TACF)

• 2021 – Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Award  for Excellence in Entrepreneurship 
• 2019 – Recipient of the prestigious Presidential Honor, Indian Diaspora Award – Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, from the Government of India (images: PBD 1/PBD 2/PBD3)
• 2019 – Award for New Investment, Business Development and Expansion  from the Montego Bay Chamber of  Commerce & Industry
• 2019 – American Chamber of Commerce Business & Civic Leadership Award
• 2018 – Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility by the American Chamber of Commerce in Jamaica
• 2012 – Listed among the top four in the list of young entrepreneurs in “The  Entrepreneurial Challenge Contest 2012” hosted by Scotia Bank and  nationwide
• 2011 – National Quality Award for Excellence in Business by the Bureau of Standards, Jamaica
• 2009 – Nation Builder Award by the NCB Foundation-Jamaica for Innovation in Business
• 2009 – Century International Quality ERA Award in Geneva (Switzerland) by the Business Initiative Directions from Madrid (Spain) in recognition of Total Quality Management
• 2008 – National Quality Award for Excellence in Business received from the Prime Minister of Jamaica/Bureau  of Standards and Ministry of Industry  & Commerce, Jamaica
• 2008 – First Good Physician of the Year Award by the Medical Association of Jamaica