Neuland laboratories has announced a leadership transition that marks a pivotal moment in the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization's growth trajectory. Saharsh Davuluri has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, effective immediately, as the company positions itself for an aggressive expansion phase in the global CDMO sector.

Leadership Transition and Strategic Vision

The leadership change represents a natural progression for the organization, with Saharsh bringing over 18 years of experience within the company. His appointment comes at a time when Neuland has demonstrated exceptional growth, having tripled its contract services revenues during the last 3 years. The new CEO will focus on positioning the company as a premier global API process development and commercial manufacturing specialist.

Saharsh has been instrumental in leading Neuland's transformation into a new chemical entity (NCE)-focused drug substance CDMO. Under his leadership, the company has secured a growing number of commercial manufacturing contracts with global innovator companies, reflecting rising demand for its expertise in process chemistry, scale-up, and reliable commercial supply.

Company Performance and Market Position

Neuland's recent success has been built on a growing reputation for scale-up of complex APIs and peptides. The company has established itself as a trusted partner for global innovators who bring their most complex chemistries and scale-up challenges to the organization.

The CDMO's growth strategy has been supported by its ability to accelerate development timelines through parallel development strategies while maintaining regulatory compliance. The company has filed over 1000 DMFs globally and offers more than 100 APIs across multiple therapeutic areas.

Expansion Plans and Future Outlook

Saharsh outlined ambitious plans for the company's future, emphasizing both immediate opportunities and long-term strategic goals. The new CEO highlighted the company's commitment to a four-phase expansion of commercial peptide capacity and plans to double process development capabilities.

The company is embarking on an aggressive expansion phase and could, pending customer approvals, secure several more commercial NCE contracts, including peptides, over the next one to two years. Neuland invested in a new commercial scale peptide facility in 2026 and is opening a large, dedicated R&D process development centre in Hyderabad.

Strategic Focus Areas

The leadership transition comes with a clear strategic focus on several key areas that will drive future growth:

• Complex Chemistry Expertise: Leveraging the company's reputation for specialist process chemistries and process innovation
• Accelerated Development: Maintaining competitive advantage through shortened development timelines
• Commercial Supply Reliability: Ensuring consistent CMC delivery to biotech and big pharma partners
• Peptide Manufacturing: Expanding capabilities in the growing peptides market
• Global CDMO Positioning: Ambition to become one of the world's top five API-focused CDMOs over the next decade

Saharsh emphasized that the company's investment approach is built around the innovation pipelines of its customers, structuring teams and capabilities to meet evolving development needs of partners. This customer-centric approach has been a key driver behind the rapidly growing number of biotech and big pharma partnerships.

The leadership change positions Neuland Laboratories to capitalize on the growing demand in the CDMO sector while maintaining its focus on complex API development and manufacturing excellence.

Neuland Laboratories promoter Davuluri Saharsh Rao has disclosed the creation of an encumbrance on his shareholding in the pharmaceutical company. The disclosure was made on March 26, 2026, in compliance with SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations 2011.

Share Pledge Details

Davuluri Saharsh Rao, who serves as Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Neuland Laboratories, has pledged 96,000 shares to Aditya Birla Money Limited. The pledge was created on March 25, 2026, for personal borrowing purposes.

Promoter Holdings Overview

Prior to this pledge creation, Davuluri Saharsh Rao held 1,95,125 shares representing 1.52% of the company's total share capital with no existing encumbered holdings. Post the pledge creation, his total encumbered shareholding stands at 96,000 shares or 0.75% of the total share capital.

Regulatory Compliance

The disclosure was submitted to both BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited, where Neuland Laboratories shares are listed. The company trades under scrip code 524558 on BSE and NEULANDLAB on NSE. This disclosure ensures transparency regarding promoter shareholding changes and compliance with securities market regulations.

The encumbrance represents approximately 49.20% of Davuluri Saharsh Rao's total shareholding in the company, created through a pledge arrangement with Aditya Birla Money Limited for personal financing requirements.