Contract Manufacturing: Pharma's New Growth Pill

Domestic contract development and manufacturing organisations are raking it in, thanks to India's emergence as a pharma R&D hub and China's supply chain issues.

- P.B. JAYAKUMAR

AURIGENE PHARMACEUTICAL SERVICES, a subsidiary of Dr Reddy's Laboratories, has lined up big expansion in biologics over next three years. As a start, it is developing a facility for making therapeutic proteins, antibodies and viral vectors (tools to deliver genetic material into cells) at Genome Valley, a biotech park in Hyderabad, to enter contract development and manufacturing of biotech drugs. "It will be operational in first half of 2024. We will provide integrated services right from clinical research to commercial manufacturing for small and large molecules," says Akhil Ravi, CEO, Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services. If Aurigene is set to start as a complete CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organisation), another Hyderabad-based CDMO, Aragen Life Sciences, has bigger plans. It will invest ₹2,000 crore in its Mallapur, Telangana, facility for drug discovery, development and manufacturing for global life sciences industry, says director & CEO Manni Kantipudi.

Large established players are also keen to expand their CDMO business. At Kona in Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh, Divi's Laboratories is building a factory over 500 acres. Divi's is one of the largest active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), custom synthesis and intermediates suppliers to global generic makers and innovator multinationals. It reported ₹7,974 crore revenues in FY23 of which 70% came from U.S. and Europe. The new unit will come up by FY25 with Divi's spending ₹1,200-1,500 crore in first phase, says managing director Murali K. Divi.