India Pharma Outlook Team | Thursday, 05 November 2026
Branded drug growth is strengthening Hikma Pharmaceuticals' 2026 outlook as the company raises its full-year branded medicines revenue expectations to around 10 percent, up from its earlier prediction of 6-8 percent.
On November 5, the UK-based pharmaceutical company narrowed its annual operating profit forecast to USD 740-760 million, compared with its previous range of USD 720-770 million.
Strong demand across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is supporting this performance, particularly through an expanded portfolio of cardiovascular, diabetes, and central nervous system medications.
However, its injectables division faces a different trajectory, highlighting how regional demand and product diversification are shaping Hikma's pharmaceutical growth strategy.
Hikma's branded medicines business is benefiting from strong demand across its regional markets, supported by new product launches, commercial partnerships and an expanded therapeutic drug portfolio.
The company is focusing particularly on cardiovascular medicines, diabetes treatments and CNS medications, which address important chronic disease segments.
The improvement follows a strong first half of 2026, when branded revenue increased 15 percent to USD 502 million. Core operating profit for the division rose 23 percent, while its core operating margin reached 32.5 percent.
Hikma CEO Said Darwazah attributed the group's performance to the strength of its diversified business, noting that the branded division was outperforming expectations while the company continued expanding its product portfolio and pipeline.
He also highlighted the company's strategies, which included expanding sales and marketing activities, strengthening relationships with healthcare professionals and introducing products through partnerships.
For the full year, Hikma now expects branded revenue to grow around 10 percent, compared with its earlier 6-8 percent projection. It has also raised its expected core operating margin for the division to close to 27 percent, from approximately 25 percent.
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The company now expects injectables revenue to remain broadly flat in 2026, compared with its earlier forecast of low-single-digit growth.
In the United States, demand for its established products and gradual progress in Tyzavan sales are largely offsetting price erosion. US generic drug pricing pressures therefore remain an important consideration for the injectable’s revenue performance.
The MENA injectables business is also benefiting from demand for its biosimilar and oncology drugs portfolio, alongside new product launches. However, earlier supply-chain disruptions involving manufacturing challenges affected performance.
Despite these pressures, Hikma expects the injectables division to maintain a core operating margin of 27-28 percent.
Hikma has retained its full-year group revenue growth expectation of 2-4 percent, while narrowing its expected group operating profit range to USD 740-760 million. While branded medicines are benefiting from regional demand and portfolio expansion, injectables face pricing and contract manufacturing pressures.
The contrasting performance of these divisions makes branded drug growth an important contributor to Hikma's 2026 business outlook, with its MENA portfolio providing a stronger source of revenue momentum as the company works to stabilize its global injectables operations.
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