India’s pharmaceutical industry has come a long way since its early days of producing generic drugs for the world. Today, the country is home to some of the largest and most innovative pharmaceutical companies in the world.
According to the Indian Economic Survey 2021, the domestic market is expected to grow 3x in the next decade. India’s domestic pharmaceutical market stood at US$ 42 billion in 2021 and is likely to reach US$ 65 billion by 2024 and further expand to reach US$ 120-130 billion by 2030.
Indian drug & pharmaceutical exports stood at US$ 24.60 billion in FY22 and US$ 24.44 billion in FY21. Indian drug & pharmaceutical exports stood at US$ 2,196.32 million in September 2022.
In this article, we will explore the Top 20 Pharmaceutical Companies in India and their contributions to the industry.
| Company Name | Founding Year | Founder | Headquarters | Valuation | Revenue 2022 (Consolidated) | Revenue (Standalone) | Acquisitions | IPO Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries | 1983 | Dilip Shanghvi | Goregaon, Mumbai | $26.2 Billion | $4.95 Billion | $2.07 Billion | 12 | Public |
| Divi’s Laboratories | 1990 | Murali Divi | Hyderabad | $12.6 Billion | $1.13 Billion | $1.1 Billion | 0 | Public |
| Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories | 1984 | Dr. Kallam Anji Reddy | Hyderabad | $9.1 Billion | $2.7 Billion | $1.8 Billion | 6 | Public |
| Cipla Limited | 1935 | Khwaja Abdul Hamied | Mumbai | $9.8 Billion | $2.7 Billion | $1.7 Billion | 6 | Public |
| Emcure Pharmaceuticals | 1983 | Satish Ramanlal Mehta | Pune | $0.63 Billion | $762.8 Million | – | 4 | Registered |
| Biocon Limited | 1978 | Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw | Bengaluru | $4.9 BIllion | $1.05 Billion | $241 Million | 1 | Public |
| Torrent Pharma | 1959 | U. N. Mehta | Ahmedabad | $6.2 Billion | $1.09 Billion | $869.9 Million | 5 | Public |
| Lupin Limited | 1968 | Desh Bandhu Gupta | Mumbai | $3.6 Billion | $2.07 Billion | $1.4 Billion | 9 | Public |
| Zydus Lifesciences Limited (formerly Cadila Healthcare) | 1952 | Ramanbhai Patel | Ahmedabad | $4.4 Billion | $1.9 Billion | $1.02 Billion | 4 | Public |
| Aurobindo Pharma Limited | 1986 | P. V. Ramaprasad Reddy and K. Nityananda Reddy | Hyderabad | $4.04 Billion | $2.9 Billion | $1.4 Billion | 7 | Public |
| Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited | 1976 | Hasmukh Chudgar | Ahmedabad | $4.3 Billion | $2.2 Billion | – | 2 | Private |
| Glenmark Pharma Limited | 1977 | Gracias Saldanha | Mumbai | $1.3 Billion | $1.5 Billion | $1.09 Billion | 4 | Public |
| Mankind Pharma Limited | 1995 | R. C. Juneja and Rajeev Juneja | New Delhi | $1 Billion | – | 1 | Private | |
| Piramal Enterprises Limited | 1984 | Ajay Piramal | Mumbai | $5.5 Billion | $1.8 Billion | $337.3 Million | 7 | Public |
| Laurus Labs Ltd. | 2005 | Dr. Satyanarayana Chava | Hyderabad | $3.4 Billion | $619.8 Million | $591.1 Million | 1 | Public |
| Abbott India Ltd. | 1944 | Dr Wallace Calvin Abbott | Mumbai | $5.3 Billion | – | $625.7 Million | 1 | Public |
| Alkem Laboratories | 1973 | Samprada Singh | Mumbai | $4.7 Billion | $1.3 Billion | $1.1 Billion | 3 | Public |
| Alembic Pharmaceuticals | 1907 | Prof. T. K. Gajjar, Prof. A. S. Kotibhasker, B. D. Amin | Vadodara | $1.7 Billion | $670.8 Million | $632 Million | 2 | Public |
| Innovexia Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. | 2011 | Sandeep Khajuria | Chandigarh | – | – | – | – | Private |
| Biophar Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd. | 2010 | Gulshan Rawat | Chandigarh | – | – | – | – | Private |
Top 20 Pharmaceutical Companies of India
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries
- Divi’s Laboratories
- Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
- Cipla Limited
- Emcure Pharmaceuticals
- Biocon Limited
- Torrent Pharma
- Lupin Limited
- Cadila Healthcare Limited
- Aurobindo Pharma Limited
- Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited
- Glenmark Pharma Limited
- Innovexia Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd.
- Biophar Lifesciences Pvt.Ltd.
- Mankind Pharma Limited
- Piramal Enterprises Limited
- Laurus Labs Ltd.
- Abbott India Ltd.
- Alkem Laboratories
- Alembic Pharmaceuticals
Top 20 Pharmaceutical Companies of India
1. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries
Founded: 1983
Owner: Dilip Shanghvi
Headquarters: Goregaon, Mumbai
Revenue: $5.0 billion (2022)
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ revenue was $5.0 billion in 2022. It is a leading multinational pharmaceutical company in India. Sun Pharma was established in the year 1983. It was founded by Mr. Dilip Shanghvi, who is also the MD of Sun Pharmaceuticals. The company started offering products to treat psychiatric ailments. Now, the company also offers formulations in various therapeutic, gastroenterology, and diabetology.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is the largest pharmaceutical company in India based on overall revenue. It is the fourth largest global specialty generic pharmaceutical company in the world. It also sells Carbamazepine, Etodolac, and Clorazepate as well as anti-cancer, steroids, peptides, sex hormones, and controlled substances. Its subsidiaries include Ranbaxy Laboratories, Sun Petrochemical Pvt. Ltd, Sun Ophthalmic Inc, Alkaloida Chemical Company Zrt, Chattem Chemicals Inc. This pharmacy business sells affordable medicines in over 150 countries across 6 continents.
Dilip Shanghvi | Founder & MD of Sun Pharmaceuticals | Success story | Acquisitions |
Dilip Shanghvi founded Sun Pharmaceuticals and is one of the India’s richestbusinessmen. In 2016, he received the fourth-highest civilian award Padma Shri from the Government of India. He was ranked 8th in India Today’s 2017 list of India’s most powerful people in the world. Forbes listed him as …
2. Divi’s Laboratories
Founded: 1990
Owner: Murali Divi
Headquarters: Hyderabad
Revenue: $1.1 billion (2022)
Divi’s Laboratories Limited is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company based in Hyderabad, India. Divi’s Laboratories was founded in 1990. Divi’s Laboratories Ltd. manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates. This pharmaceutical company in India is engaged in the manufacture of leading generic compounds, Nutraceutical ingredients, custom synthesis of APIs, and intermediates for global innovator companies. Divi’s Laboratories is one of the largest API companies in the world, with revenue $1.1 billion in 2022, and exporting to more than 95 countries.
3. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
Founded: 1984
Owner: Dr. Kallam Anji Reddy
Headquarters: Hyderabad
Revenue: $2.4 billion (FY20)
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories was founded by Anji Reddy in 1984. It is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company. It is known for manufacturing a wide range of pharmaceuticals in India and overseas. They have over 190 medications, 60 active pharmaceutical ingredients for drug manufacturers, diagnostics kits, critical care, and biotechnology products. It is India’s fifth-largest company of pharmaceuticals and has a revenue of US$2.4 billion in 2020. The notable products of Dr. Reddy’s include Canagliflozin. Ramipril, Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Atorvastatin, Nizatidine, Naproxen Sodium, etc.
4. Cipla Limited
Founded: 1935
Owner: Yusuf Hamied
Headquarters: Mumbai
Revenue: $2.9 billion(2022)
Cipla is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, which has its headquarters in Mumbai and was established in 1935 by Khwaja Abdul Hamied. Yusuf Hamied is the Non-Executive Chairman of Cipla. It is India’s fourth-largest pharma company based on overall revenue. This pharmaceutical company in India focuses to develop medicines to treat respiratory, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, diabetes, weight control, depression, and many more.
Cipla has a revenue of $2.9 billion in 2022 and has more than 22,036 employees. The subsidiaries of Cipla are Invagen Pharmaceuticals. They are the largest manufacturer of antiretroviral drugs.
Top 3 Generic Medicine Startups that are Reshaping the Pharmaceutical Industry in India
Medicine is considered to be one of the most important necessities for all ofus. It is concerned with maintaining and restoring human health, and the role ofa pharmacist is vital for the benefit of the patients. Not all medicines areavailable for low prices and thus cannot be afforded by everybod…
5. Emcure Pharmaceuticals
Founded: 1983
Owner: Satish Ramanlal Mehta
Headquarters: Pune
Revenue: $730 million ( FY22 )
Emcure Pharmaceuticals is a Pune-based company, which was founded in 1983 by Satish Ramanlal Mehta. It was to address the vision of fulfilling the vast healthcare needs that Emcure Pharmaceuticals was born. Emcure Pharmaceuticals started as a single manufacturing facility in Pune and has witnessed healthy growth throughout the years, now boasting a range of world-class manufacturing facilities spread across API, formulations, and biotechnology. Emcure is now known as a vertically integrated pharmaceutical company with commendable infrastructure, skills, and resources that are not only comparable to the best pharma companies in Mumbai, India but those that are considered as the best in the world. Manufacturing of APIs, Formulations, and Biotechnology can all be summed up as strengths of Emcure.
Namita Thapar, who is distinguished as one of the judges of Shark Tank India, is the Executive Director of Emcure’s India business. Thapar is an MBA degree holder from the Fuqua School of Business along with being a CA from ICAI. Ms. Thapar has also been a recipient of many esteemed corporate awards like The Economic Times ‘40 under Forty’ award, World Women Leadership Congress Super Achiever award, recognition as a Barclays Hurun Next Gen Leader, who also has her name in the Economic Times 2017 Women Ahead List.
6. Biocon Limited
Founded: 1978
Owner: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Revenue: $1.1 billion (2022 )
Founded in the year 1978, Biocon is the most popular pharmaceutical company in India. Biocon Limited manufactures generic active pharmaceuticals. The company is based out of Bengaluru. Products from Biocon Limited are sold around the world on a very huge scale. More than 9000 people are employed at Biocon and the company holds total assets valued over $824 million.
7. Torrent Pharma
Founded: 1959
Owner: Sudhir Mehta
Headquarters: Ahmedabad
Revenue: 1.1 billion (2022 )
Torrent is one of the top pharmaceuticals companies in India. It is based in Ahmedabad and has a revenue of US$1.1 billion, as of 2020. Torrent has manufacturing plants at Dahej, Pithampur, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. Torrent Pharma makes medicinal drugs for Central Nervous System, gastrointestinal pain management, gastrointestinal diabetology, and anti-infective segments.
An Overview Of The Online Pharmacy Industry In India
With the lockdowns restrictions brought over by the Covid Pandemic, mosteconomic activities were paused, millions lost their job and many industriesfaced difficulties. But there were also some industries like Online gaming,Online grocery, Fintech, Telemedicine, Ed tech, online media that were boo…
8. Lupin Limited
Founded: 1968
Owner: Mrs. Manju D Gupta (W/o Desh Bandhu Gupta)
Headquarters: Mumbai
Revenue:$2.0 billion ( 2021)
Lupin is a multi-national pharmaceutical company based in Mumbai. Lupin was established in 1968 by Desh Bandhu Gupta. It is the 12th-largest company by market capitalization and is thus one of the well-known pharmaceutical manufacturers in India. Lupin has revenue of $2.0 billion in 2021. The company is involved in the manufacturing and selling of medicines ranging from pediatrics, cardiovascular, anti-infectives, diabetology, asthma, and anti-tuberculosis.
Lupin Limited has its major markets in the USA (Baltimore, Maryland), India Region Formulations, Europe, Japan, South Africa, Australia, Philippines, Mexico, Latin America, etc. Some of the subsidiaries of Lupin Ltd. are Lupin Pharmaceutical Inc, Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry Co. Ltd. and many more.
9. Cadila Healthcare Limited
Founded: 1952
Owner: Pankaj Patel
Headquarters: Ahmedabad
Revenue: $2.1 billion (FY21)
Cadila Healthcare Limited was founded in 1952. It is also known as Zydus Cadila. It is an Indian pharmaceutical company headquartered in Ahmedabad. It is one of the largest pharma companies in India and has a revenue of US$2.1 billion in 2021. It was founded by Ramabhai Patel.
Cadila Healthcare Limited is also known for excellent diagnostics, along with being a manufacturer of herbal, skincare, and other OTC products. The company also produces generics for hepatitis C treatment, based on the voluntary license agreement with Gilead. Cadila makes API at three sites in India that are Ankleshwar plant, Vadodara plant, and Patalganga.
List of Biotech companies that are Developing Covid vaccine
India started its vaccination programme for Covid-19 on 16 January 2021. Thevaccination was first prioritized for frontline and healthcare workers. TheCovishield vaccine and Covaxin have been approved by the government. There aremany more companies working behind developing the vaccine in the cou…
10. Aurobindo Pharma Limited
Founded: 1986
Owner: P. V. Ramaprasad Reddy and Mr. K. Nityananda Reddy
Headquarters: Hyderabad
Revenue: $3.3 billion (FY20)
Aurobindo Pharma Limited was established in 1986. It sells over 300 products in over 125 countries and its key segment is APIS, as 35% of the total revenue is generated from API. It is the second-biggest pharmaceuticals company in India and has a revenue of US$3.3 billion in 2020. Aurobindo Pharma Limited is engaged in the manufacturing and selling of medicines in the field of neurosciences, cardiovascular, Antiretrovirals, anti-diabetics, gastroenterology, cephalosporins, etc.
11. Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited
Founded: 1986
Owner: Hasmukh Chudgar
Headquarters: Ahmedabad
Revenue: $340 million (FY22)
Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited, based in Ahmedabad was founded in 1984 and has a revenue of $340 million in 2022. It has 13 commercialized biosimilars including Docetaxel and Paclitaxel. This pharma company in India has its R&D department in the field of chronic disease of oncology (cancer), rheumatology, auto-immune, nephrology, ophthalmology, and plasma-derived product-based therapies.
This pharmaceutical company has its headquarters in Ahmedabad and is one of the leading biosimilar product manufacturers in Asia. Intas has 14 formulation manufacturing facilities, of which seven are located in India and the rest in the UK. and Mexico. It is the seventh-largest company in India, and the company saw an increase in revenue by 29.84% in 2017.
12. Glenmark Pharma Limited
Founded: 1977
Owner: Glenn Saldanha
Headquarters: Mumbai
Revenue: $416.76 million (INR 3,125.43 crore in Q2 FY22)
Glenmark Pharma Limited is a pharma company headquartered in Mumbai, India that was founded in 1977 by Gracias Saldanha. This pharmaceutical company has drug discovery that plays an important role in the field of therapeutic areas of dermatology, respiratory, and oncology. It is the eighth largest pharma company and has a revenue of $1.07 billion in 2021. The company also focused on new biosimilars drugs and in the fields of cancer, dermatology, and respiratory diseases, by collaborating with major pharma companies.
Startup Ideas for Medical Practitioners During Pandemic
Every domain has certain gaps that can be filled only through out-of-the-boxsolutions. The field of medicine is no exception. Doctors and otherpractitioners in every capacity and designation can also come up with innovativeways of earning cash through secondary sources. These alternate methods if…
13. Innovexia Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd.
Founded: 2011
Owner: Sandeep Khajuria
Headquarters: Chandigarh
Innovexia Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. is one of the best pharmaceutical companies in India. It is involved in the manufacturing as well as the trading of various antacid medications, anti allergic tablets, capsules, etc. It is also known as a top PCD Pharma Franchise company, who keeps investing and equipping with the state-of-art facilities for the high quality medicines.
14. Biophar Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd.
Founded: 2010
Owner: Gulshan Rawat
Headquarters: Chandigarh
Biophar is one of the top pharmaceuticals companies based in Chandigarh that deals in the PCD Pharma Franchise Business and manufacturing. The quality and reasonably-priced formulations make the company one of the most reliable companies in India. Biophar has been expanding its client base by reaching each and every corner of the nation and adding more distributors. It is the constant endeavor that the company takes, which helps its business spread to other parts and create new networks.
15. Mankind Pharma Limited
Founded: 1995
Owner: R. C. Juneja and Rajeev Juneja
Headquarters: New Delhi
Revenue: $980 million (INR 7,400 crore in FY20)
Mankind Pharma Limited is a pharma company in India that has its headquarters in New Delhi. It was founded in 1995 and helps in the production and sale of a wide range of products, including Antibiotics, Antifungals, NSAIDs, Gastrointestinal, Anthelmintic, Cardiovascular, Dermal, Erectile Dysfunction, and several other categories. The company has a revenue of approximately US$1 billion in 2020and is the 10th Indian largest pharma company.
16. Piramal Enterprises Limited
Founded: 1984
Owner: Ajay Piramal
Headquarters: Mumbai
Revenue: $970 million (FY22)
Piramal Enterprises Limited is one of the popular companies for Pharmaceuticals in India. It was founded in 1984 and was acquired by Ajay Piramal in the early 1980s. The global business conglomerate deals with healthcare, life sciences, drug discovery, healthcare, etc. The company further deals with pharma, critical care, consumer products, phytomedicine, and imaging. Piramal Enterprises Limited is the 12th largest company in India, based on total revenue of $970 million in FY22.
Laurus Labs Ltd.
Founded: 2005
Owner: Dr. Satyanarayana Chava
Headquarters: Hyderabad
Revenue: Net Revenue – $170.59 million (INR 1,279 crores in Q1 FY22)
A leading research and development-driven Indian pharma and biotech company, Laurus Labs is headquartered in Hyderabad and has its manufacturing plants located at Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. The company mainly focuses on active pharma ingredients, finished dosage forms, synthesis, and biotechnology. Laurus Labs leads in generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (‘APIs’) certain high-growth therapeutic areas of anti-retrovirals (‘ARVs’), Hepatitis C, and Oncology.
Laurus Labs is a 4000 employees strong organization all of whom are always looking out to expand the horizons of Chemistry to develop new cures and new methods to cure people along with counting a considerable profit. The employees of Laurus Labs Ltd. include pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry veterans, research scientists, manufacturing and management professionals, and more.
Abbott India Ltd.
Founded: 1944
Owner: Abbott Laboratories
Headquarters: Mumbai
Revenue: $34.60 billion in FY20
Founded in 1944, Abbott is a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories of USA, established back in 1910 and always dedicated to helping people live healthier lives. Abbott India is responsible for manufacturing a diverse range of nutritional products, diagnostic tools, branded generic pharmaceuticals, diabetes, vascular devices, and more.
Abbott’s products can be categorized into a wide range of therapeutic categories like women’s health, gastroenterology, cardiology, metabolic disorders, and primary care.
Headquartered in Mumbai, Abbott is one of the oldest pharmaceutical companies in India and among the largest MNC pharma companies.
Alkem Laboratories
Founded: 1973
Owner: Samprada Singh
Headquarters: Mumbai
Revenue: $292.49 million (INR 2192.2 crore in Q4 FY21)
Alkem or Alkem Laboratories Ltd. is one of the Indian multinational pharma companies from Mumbai that produces and sells pharmaceutical generics, formulations, nutraceuticals in India and around the world.
Alkem Laboratories has successfully set up 21 manufacturing plants, as of September 2021, out of which 19 plants are in India and 2 of the Alkem’s plants are in the US. Alkem boasts of around 5 decades worth of popularity. Taxim from Alkem emerged as the first anti-infective drug to cross the 1,000 million mark of domestic sales in 2006.
Alembic Pharmaceuticals
Founded: 1907
Owner: Chirayu Amin
Headquarters: Vadodara
Revenue: $172.42 million (INR 1292.32 crores in Q2 FY22)
Alembic Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1907 in Vadodara, Gujarat. The company is involved in manufacturing pharmaceutical products, pharmaceutical substances, and intermediaries and has set up its manufacturing plants in Panelav, Karakhadi, in Gujarat, and Sikkim in India.
The company initially started as Alembic Chemical Works in 1907, when the company began manufacturing tincture and alcohol in its unit at Vadodara. With its name in the Forbes’ 2016 list of ‘India’s Super 50 Companies 2016’, Alembic Pharmaceuticals is one of the most popular pharmaceutical brands in India.
These were the list of medical companies in India. Hope this list will help you in having a business idea that you can start with. Comment below which pharmaceutical company you think is doing the best in the field of life sciences. Share this post with your friends.
FAQs
What are the top 20 pharmaceuticals in India?
Here is the list of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in India:
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries
- Divi’s Laboratories
- Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
- Cipla Limited
- Emcure Pharmaceuticals
- Biocon Limited
- Torrent Pharma
- Lupin Limited
- Cadila Healthcare Limited
- Aurobindo Pharma Limited
- Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited
- Glenmark Pharma Limited
- Innovexia Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd.
- Biophar Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd.
- Mankind Pharma Limited
- Piramal Enterprises Limited
- Laurus Labs Ltd.
- Abbott India Ltd.
- Alkem Laboratories
- Alembic Pharmaceuticals
Which is the No 1 pharma company in India?
Based on revenue, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is the largest pharma company in India.
Who is the owner of Sun Pharma?
Dilip Shanghvi is the owner of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
What are the pharma companies in Ahmedabad?
There are numerous pharma companies in Ahmedabad. Some of the major pharmaceutical companies are:
- Torrent Pharmaceuticals
- Zydus Cadila
- Unison Pharmaceuticals Private Limited
- Dishman Pharmaceuticals
- Nabros Pharma Private Limited
- Acron Pharmaceuticals
- Nabros Pharma
What is the turnover of pharmaceutical companies in India?
The annual turnover of pharmaceutical companies in India is $20.88 billion as of April 2021.
