Barely two weeks apart, domestic drugmakers inked two major overseas transactions in the US.

Sun Pharmaceuticals formalised an agreement for a $12 billion (₹1,14,000 crore) buy of Organon, whose product basket includes women’s health and biosimilar products, besides a presence in China. The transaction is the largest in the domestic pharmaceutical industry and among the top grossers for India Inc, as well.

Days later, Zydus Pharma announced its $166.4 million (close to ₹1,600 crore) deal for speciality company Assertio Holdings, bolstering its presence in the cancer medicines segment.

Industry watchers hark back to last July when Glenmark Pharma, through its subsidiary, inked an outlicensing deal for its prospective cancer molecule to US company AbbVie, for $700 million (about ₹6,000 crore) — marking a first for the Indian pharmaceutical sector.

An eventful 10 months for local drugmakers, say experts, signalling a well-planned leap into the manufacture of complex and innovative drug products. More could be in the offing, as companies say they have the cash to support their ambition for a larger global play. This strategy also helps companies derisk supplies, as governments across the world look to ensure continuous supply of medicines through manufacturing facilities closer to their geographies. The last few years have bared the risk of supply disruptions — first due to a pandemic, and now a war.

Appetite for risk

Suresh Subramanian, National Lifesciences Leader with consulting firm EY-Parthenon India, says,  “The risk appetite is increasing for Indian pharma to place their bets on global acquisitions as a growth strategy” — this is visible across large, not-so-big and medium-size companies.

Drugmakers are looking to expand their global footprint. Exports account for half the estimated $60 billion domestic pharmaceutical industry, projected to touch $130 billion by 2030.  Besides, overseas buys also help when dealing with a geopolitical situation —- where countries seek to create self-sufficiency, and reduce healthcare costs through lower priced products, he adds.

“India has the advantage of cost arbitrage, labour arbitrage and also now a value arbitrage given its presence in complex generics and new modalities,” says Subramanian. Multinational companies are offshoring to India many of their products (discovery/ early development, manufacturing) — the “intel inside story”, he says, pointing to contract research, development and manufacturing organisations (CRDMOs) delivering multiple drug candidates, on MNC mandates. The shift is from making simple generics to making complex products, biosimilars, ADCs, peptides, GLP-1 products and oligonucleotides, for example, he says.

Cash pile

Industry experts point to the cash pile with companies — including Cipla (₹10,500-plus crore) and Lupin (₹4,600-plus crore) — waiting to be deployed.  

Achin Gupta, Cipla Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer, said recently that the company could look at strategic acquisition opportunities in the US or Europe, for a differentiated play. Earlier this year, Lupin’s Managing Director Nilesh Gupta had said, “Our acquisition priorities are speciality in the US and Rx (prescription products) in India… OTC (over-the-counter products) is definitely a third…”

“Everybody wants to get into innovation, that is the end game,” says Vishal Manchanda, Senior Vice-President (Institutional Research) with Systematix Group, indicating better returns.  To be in that $900 billion market, “you have to innovate or buy innovation”, he says, adding that everyone wants a share of the global $ 900 billion pie, while they operate in the $100 billion segment now. The US is attractive “because it’s very structured”, he says, with that country accounting for about 40 per cent of the global pie.

Mature phase

Sonam Chandwani, Managing Partner, KS Legal and Associates, says that the recent overseas acquisitions signal that Indian pharmaceutical companies are moving beyond low-cost generic manufacturing — positioning themselves as long-term global players with access to regulated markets and intellectual property-driven businesses. 

These transactions are not merely expansion exercises, she says, but also bring in niche technologies, speciality portfolios, biologics capabilities and stronger market access in the US and Europe. Domestic drugmakers are aware that long-term growth cannot depend “only on commoditised generics, where pricing pressure and regulatory scrutiny continue to rise”, she says.  The post-Covid supplies environment accelerated this trend, she adds, with countries looking for reliable pharmaceutical partners, and Indian companies are using overseas acquisitions to strengthen credibility and secure a larger role in global healthcare supply chains.

From a legal and transactional perspective, the deals show the “growing sophistication of Indian corporates in handling cross-border structuring, regulatory integration and complex compliance frameworks,” she says, adding that Indian pharma is entering a more “mature phase focused on innovation”.

Published on May 18, 2026