Cipla bets on fast-growing biosimilars market, to steadily add products: CEO

Cipla is building a biosimilar product pipeline and aims to steadily add new products over the next five years, its top executive said, as the company invests in the fast-growing market for cheaper versions of complex biologic drugs.

“We are building out our opportunities in biosimilars and other complex modalities where we see significant long-term opportunity,” managing director and global chief executive officer (CEO) Achin Gupta told reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday.

In March, the Mumbai-based pharmaceutical giant announced a joint venture with biologics contract drug manufacturer Kemwell Biopharma; here they are “building a focused pipeline that aligns with our core strengths and continues to drive the disciplined market-focused approach,” Gupta said.

He added that the drugmaker currently has two biosimilar products in development and will add 1-2 each year for the next 5-6 years.

The drugmaker is investing in R&D, particularly for developed markets, to build a strong product pipeline across respiratory peptides and complex generics.

Performance and growth outlook

Cipla made net profit ₹554.64 crore in the March quarter, down 54.6% year-on-year. The company’s revenue from operations in Q1FY26 also decreased, falling by 2.80% compared to the previous year. ₹6,541.20 crore.

The company’s shares closed with an increase of 2.7 percent ₹1,327.15 on BSE on Wednesday.

Cipla’s One India business grew 15% YoY and all 3 segments registered double-digit growth during the quarter. One India is the company’s general India business, which includes branded generics, commercial generics and consumer healthcare.

The North American business generated quarterly revenue of $155 million, supported by a differentiated portfolio and stable core businesses.

Revenue up 2% for FY26 ₹Net profit fell 26% to 28,163 crore ₹3,879 crore.

“If you look beyond the current near-term geopolitical issues, we are seeing strong growth in our core markets, including India, where we expect strong double-digit growth, as well as the US, where our pipeline is very robust and we expect to surpass $1 billion in sales by the end of FY27,” Gupta said.

The company expects good sequential and annual growth in the U.S., thanks to the recent approval of a generic version of its respiratory drug Ventolin and a pipeline that includes four other respiratory launches as well as a peptide in the pipeline.