A new report has revealed the potential of the Indian CRDMO sector — with data suggesting that it could be worth up to USD $25bn by 2035.
The report, published by the Boston Consulting Group in collaboration with the Innovative Pharmaceutical Services Organization (IPSO), highlights India's positioning in the pharmaceutical market, finding that it's particularly strong in its small molecule capabilities.
It also notes that services in the region are at a cost advantage, and that India is currently investing heavily into its Biologics expertise; a fast-growing sector within the pharma industry.
Some of the key findings include:
- India's CRDMO market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 15%, which is currently outpacing the industry's overall global growth. This is likely fuelled by cost advantages over the West, as well as fast project startup times
- Western pharmaceutical companies are now looking for alternative research, manufacturing and development hubs following global supply chain realignments
- Next-generation modalities such as DNA/RNA therapeutics and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are experiencing an annual growth of 25–35%, providing India a chance to cater to this huge market
- India's government is funding pharma and biotech innovation — investing more than INR 25,000 crore into the sector
Currently, India holds a 3% share of the CRDMO market, but experts at the Boston Consulting group believe that it could become a global leader in the sector.
However, the Indian market must overcome five key challenges to sustain its current growh trajectory. This includes a talent expansion of at least 6x, as well as faster regulatory approvals, a stronger tier 1 supplier base, higher investments and improvements to ESG compliance.
Banding together to get India to the top
To further advance India's CRDMO sector, 11 of the country's key players in this market have joined forces to launch a novel industry body, IPSO.
Together, the companies will combine their expertise in specialised areas such as discovery, development and biomanufacturing to advance the sector and advocate for industry collaboration and fair policy.
"The Indian CRDMO sector is positioned for major transformation, with the potential to become a leader in serving the global biopharma and wider life sciences outsourcing market models," commented Peter Bains, CEO Designate of Syngene International.
"Realising this opportunity will require change and collaboration among all stakeholders in the Indian CRDMO ecosystem. As leading industry players, we must express vision, ambition and intent to move beyond our recognized strengths in small molecules development and manufacturing and into new technologies and modalities, in order to realise the inherent potential."
He also notes that CRDMOs will have to work with the Government to ensure that India can compete with regulatory boards globally.
"We will need to work with India’s academic ecosystem to ensure a strong flow of highly talented scientists, engineers and technology leaders to ensure we are capability competitive. Only by working together, can we unlock new opportunities in drug discovery, process innovation and advanced manufacturing, that can strengthen India’s position in the global pharmaceutical value chain," he noted.
"To compete at a global level, Indian CRDMOs must not only scale capabilities in new modalities like ADCs, cell & gene therapies and RNA therapeutics but also work together to build a resilient supply chain and streamline regulatory pathways," added Manni Kantipudi, CEO and Whole time Director, Aragen Life Sciences.