⁠⁠ Steady Growth, Sound Fundamentals: India Pharma Manufacturing Landscape

The Context: Growth Trends and Market Composition of India’s Pharma Sector

India’s pharmaceutical market recorded a turnover of INR 4.17 lakh crore in FY24, growing at a CAGR of 9.5% since FY20. It houses 1,136 USFDA-compliant manufacturing facilities, the highest outside the US, and maintains stringent quality benchmarks, with approvals from WHO-GMP and EU-GMP regulators.

India is the largest supplier of generic medicines globally, accounting for over 20% of global exports of generics. With over 60,000 generic brands produced across the country, India’s pharmaceutical ecosystem is vast, sophisticated and increasingly innovation led. In terms of therapeutic areas, metabolism-related disorders (such as diabetes) dominate the revenue landscape, accounting for 18.9% in 2024, followed by infectious diseases and immunology (16.5%), oncology (13.9%) and others.

The Impact: India’s Global Role in Medicine and Vaccine Supply Chains

India’s pharma manufacturing capabilities are not only a domestic asset but a global lifeline. The country supplies:

• 60% of vaccines procured by UNICEF
• 90% of WHO’s measles vaccines
• 40–70% of DPT and BCG vaccines

India is the 11^th-largest exporter of pharmaceutical products, HS30, globally (2024), with exports worth US$ 23.3 billion to over 200 countries. Nearly 90% of these exports fall under HS Code 3004, medicaments for therapeutic or prophylactic for retail sale.

Emerging segments such as biosimilars and gene therapy also reflect India’s advanced capabilities. India accounts for 28% of globally approved biosimilars, with 123 launched and over 100 in the pipeline. The gene therapy market, valued at over US$ 500 million in 2024, is poised to quadruple within the next decade.

 The Support: Government Policies and Institutional Framework Enabling Growth

India’s rise as a global pharma hub has been backed by robust policy and institutional frameworks. The Indian government has introduced various schemes for the support and further strengthening of domestic production. Schemes such as PLI and Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks support industry in strengthening domestic production, while PRIP scheme promotes R&D and innovation in the medical technology segment.

India’s pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem is not limited to large corporations, it is equally driven by 6,000 biotech start-ups (as of 2023), supported by 73 bio-incubators and nine biotech parks established through BIRAC and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). The sector also benefits from robust academia-industry collaborations, like CAR-T cell therapies developed jointly by IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Hospital.

The Future: Opportunities Ahead in Biosimilars, Gene Therapy and Biotech Innovation

Besides continuing competencies in generics’ manufacturing, the Indian pharma industry is likely to see an increasing contribution from sub-segments such as biosimilars, gene therapy and biotech. In the biosimilar segment, India hopes to launch an additional 102 biosimilars in the future, building on the already launched 123 biosimilars until 2019, which account for 28% share of globally approved biologics.

Similarly, the gene therapy segment holds growth potential, with its market value expected to reach US$ 2 billion in the next 8 to 10 years, from US$ 500 million value in 2024. In the biotech space, biotech-driven pharmaceuticals innovation is projected to reach US$ 300 billion by 2030, up from US$ 130 billion in 2024.

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