Indian Pharma Expands as Global Players Cut Insulin Focus

Key Takeaways:

• Indian firms now command 25% of India’s ?4,404-crore insulin market.
• MNCs are shifting focus from insulin to anti-obesity drugs like GLP-1s.
• Rising diabetes cases and affordable pricing fuel domestic growth.

Indian pharmaceutical firms like Eris Lifesciences, Lupin, Mankind, and Wockhardt are quickly growing their footprint in India's insulin market, long monopolized by the likes of Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and Eli Lilly. Driven by increased investments in cost-effective biosimilars, expanded market coverage, and an uptick in type 1 diabetes cases, local players now control 25 percent of the ?4,404-crore market, states PharmaTrac. Indian companies experienced 13 percent year-over-year growth—twice as much as multinational peers—on the back of their own brands and alliance partnerships.

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Rajeev Juneja, managing director and vice chairman of Mankind Pharma said, “Indian pharma companies have invested in biologics and biosimilars, giving them the technical capability to produce insulin at scale. India's cost-effective manufacturing infrastructure enables it to produce insulin more affordable than many Western competitors, making it more accessible to patients.”

Experts point out that increasing prevalence of type 1 diabetes—roughly 860,000 individuals in India, predominantly among children—is generating enormous demand for insulin therapy. "Indian pharma companies with established diabetes portfolios can easily boost their insulin offerings," PD Hinduja Hospital's Aasim Maldar pointed out.