India’s pharmaceutical industry has reached a scale that could enable it to move beyond its traditional strength in low-cost generic medicines and accelerate innovative drug development, according to leaders of three major Indian pharmaceutical companies. Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Glenn Saldanha of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and Syngene International are of the opinion that India’s success in generics provides a strong foundation for the next phase of pharmaceutical growth.
Generics Success Creates Foundation for Innovation
India is the world’s largest supplier of generic medicines and accounts for around one-fifth of global generic drug supplies. However, pharma leaders believe the industry now has the scale, capabilities and experience to invest more aggressively in innovative medicines. “The Indian industry has reached a size where we can invest in innovation,” said Dilip Shanghvi, Executive Chairman, Sun Pharma. India’s domestic pharmaceutical market is valued at around $60 billion and is projected to more than double to approximately $130 billion by 2030. According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, pharmaceutical turnover reached ₹4.72 lakh crore in FY2025.
India Looks to Move Up the Pharma Value Chain
The industry sees the coming decade as a critical period for India’s transition from a major generic drug supplier to an innovation-driven pharmaceutical hub. Glenn Saldanha, Chairman and Managing Director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, pointed to China’s transformation over the past two decades as an example of how an emerging pharmaceutical industry can move towards higher-value drug development. He said India is well positioned to make a similar transition, with companies increasingly focusing on differentiated and innovative products. Saldanha noted that India’s pharma sector currently includes companies at different stages of development. While some continue to focus primarily on generic medicines, others are expanding into biosimilars and innovative therapies.
China’s Pharma Transformation Offers Lessons
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon and Syngene International, also highlighted China’s experience in building an innovation-focused pharmaceutical ecosystem. According to Mazumdar-Shaw, China adopted a strategic approach to strengthen innovation and build international credibility. She argued that India could adopt similar measures while also studying successful models from countries such as Australia. She called for a credible, policy-led ecosystem that encourages innovation and supports faster development of early-stage drug candidates.
Regulatory Reform Remains Critical
However, pharma leaders believe regulatory reform will be essential to accelerate India’s innovation journey. Mazumdar-Shaw said India needs to examine which regulatory processes can be streamlined without compromising safety and quality. She also highlighted the industry’s concerns around clinical trials, saying that risk aversion and lengthy processes can make conducting trials in India challenging. She noted that Biocon sometimes conducts clinical trials overseas because the process in India can be cumbersome. Consequently, faster and more predictable regulatory pathways could help Indian companies bring innovative medicines to market more efficiently.
Pharma Companies Increase Focus on Innovative Products
Saldanha said a small but growing group of Indian pharmaceutical companies is now moving rapidly towards more differentiated products. For these companies, the objective is to increase the contribution of innovative medicines to their portfolios while continuing to leverage their existing capabilities in generics and biosimilars. He expects significant activity in this area over the next five to 10 years as companies expand their R&D pipelines and invest in new technologies.
Consistent R&D Investment Is Essential
Mazumdar-Shaw emphasised that innovation requires sustained investment rather than short-term spending. “The pipeline is the lifeline,” she said, highlighting the importance of maintaining a continuous flow of new drug candidates and technologies. Therefore, Indian pharmaceutical companies will need to strengthen R&D capabilities, develop global partnerships and maintain long-term investment strategies to build competitive innovative portfolios.
India’s Innovation Shift Will Take Time
Shanghvi stressed that pharmaceutical innovation requires patience because investments in drug discovery and development typically generate returns only after several years. Nevertheless, he believes recent government initiatives and industry investments can accelerate India’s transition towards innovation-led pharmaceutical growth. As reported by forbesindia.com, as India seeks to strengthen its position in the global pharmaceutical industry, the next phase will depend on sustained R&D investment, regulatory reform, clinical-trial capabilities, global partnerships and a strong pipeline of innovative medicines. The industry’s established strength in generics provides a valuable foundation. The challenge now is to convert that scale and experience into globally competitive innovation.
