PHARMA SPECIAL
Previously Syngene had acquired Emergent Biosolutions’ facility in Maryland. This was both its first acquisition outside India and situated in the third largest biologics ecosystem in the US. It has now built out the leadership team and the first phase will become operational in February 2026.
Aragen has just commissioned a 2,000 L reactor as the second phase of a biologics manufacturing site in Bengaluru and shipped its first GMP batch to a European customer. It has also started up an OEB Level 6 HPAPI lab at discovery scale in Hyderabad and is looking at starting up ADC capabilities by the end of 2026.
Historically, Aragen has been focused on early-stage small molecules, which is still“ going very, very well” according to chief commercial officer Ashu Tandon. It is“ slowly but surely” moving into the later stages too. Finally, it has revamped its structure, running its three divisions of discovery, small molecules and biologics under divisional CEOs with P & L responsibilities.
Made in India
Another Indian player, Neuland Laboratories, had announced a peptide investment earlier in the year. The first of four modules is expected to be operational in July 2026 and will be one of the largest CDMO facilities for peptides in India, according to managing director and vice chairman Saharsh Rao Davuluri.
“ As well as GLP-1s, it will support upcoming demand for peptides in cardiovascular, dermatology and even central nervous system indications,” he said.“ There is also a strong interest, especially among US pharma, to look at Indian companies as potential partners.”
In response to market feedback, Neuland also plans to move in mid- 2026 into a new campus at Genome Valley in Hyderabad four times larger than its current facility. It plans to use this research hub for process development supported by
automated synthesis and AI platforms, giving it one of the most modern process development capabilities in the CDMO sector.
Neuland’ s CDMO revenues have grown tenfold in the past five years. Its latest investments, said Davuluri, are a diversification into adjacent technical fields from a traditional base in small molecules. It now plans to“ create a sizeable asset” before diversifying further. High potency and oligonucleotides are strong additional possibilities.
Finally, Ipca has been investing in small molecule oral solids in India and is close to commissioning a biosimilar mAb facility. Advanced intermediates and traditional small molecules will continue to be a focus over the next few years, said Manish Jain, SVP of business development.
Although business is a“ mixed bag”, APIs have been strong. Early stage enquiries at Onyx Scientific in the UK have shown a recovery but actual business remains hard to come by, due essentially to the well-documented funding issues among biotechs. ●
Opportunity India?
A recent estimate gives the top five Chinese pharmaceutical CDMOs in small molecules a combined total turnover of around $ 10-15 billion / year, compared to $ 2 billion / year for the top five Indian CDMOs in the same space.
This is not an official figure but it is surely suggestive of an overreliance on China when geopolitical tensions between the US and China are high and also of an opportunity for India to become a bigger player in the space with the right investment ahead of the next growth cycle. Market research done by the Indian companies themselves has tended to the same conclusion.
“ Overall we are in a positive space, largely because there has been a palpable shift in the mindset of Western pharma to rebalance their outsourcing portfolios between China and India,” said Neuland’ s Saharsh Rao Davuluri.“ We are seeing more visits from both pharma and biotech companies and some of the feedback we are gathering from these interactions have informed out own investments.”
Syngene’ s Alex Del Priore agreed that India is playing a role in the general trend towards“ looking at solutions that reduce risk”. He has seen a growing level of interest from major decision-makers asking
Tandon – Aragen has benefitted from large companies’ interest in India
if India can help do this, in addition to the financial savings it offers. Ashu Tandon observed that Aragen has also benefitted from large pharma companies that were not previously working in India coming in with pilot projects. It has managed to convert many of these into the first steps of longer-term commercial projects that should grow more in time.
NOV / DEC 2025 SPECCHEMONLINE. COM
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