Sun Pharmaceutical Managing Director Kirti Ganorkar has identified obesity and diabetes treatment drugs as a significant growth opportunity for India's pharmaceutical sector. The company executive highlighted that improving access to glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) treatments may serve as a key enabler for industry expansion in the coming years.

GLP-1 Treatments and Industry Transformation

GLP-1 receptor agonists represent a new generation of medicines that treat type 2 diabetes, high blood sugar, and obesity by regulating insulin production. Ganorkar emphasized that these treatments could help address India's growing burden of lifestyle diseases, particularly as the country aims to transform from a generic drug manufacturing hub into a major player in the global weight management industry.

Ganorkar stated, "Improving access to GLP-1 treatments in the coming years may be a key driver for the Indian pharmaceutical industry, helping address the growing burden of lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes." He noted that combining these treatments with AI-enabled digital tools for early disease detection, monitoring, and personalized medicine choices could drive innovation focused on accessibility, affordability, and better patient outcomes.

Industry Vision for Innovation Hub Status

Dr Reddy's Laboratories Chairman Satish Reddy outlined the sector's broader transformation goals, emphasizing the need for accessible risk capital to elevate India's pharmaceutical industry. He highlighted that making risk capital more accessible could enable India to evolve from being the world's pharmacy to becoming a global pharmaceutical innovation hub.

Reddy noted that as India enters 2026, innovation may serve as the defining force for the sector's next growth phase. The emphasis will continue on building scientific excellence, regulatory agility, and collaborative innovation to reinforce India's position as a trusted global partner.

Revenue Growth Projections

Rating firm Icra has provided projections for the Indian pharmaceutical sector's performance. The firm expects revenues of its sample set of Indian pharmaceutical companies to grow across multiple markets.

The moderation in US market growth is attributed to pricing pressure on certain key drugs, particularly Lenalidomide. However, performance in domestic and European markets is expected to support overall sector growth.

Healthcare Infrastructure Development

Aster DM Healthcare Founder & Chairman Azad Moopen provided insights into the broader healthcare sector's development priorities. He emphasized that the opportunity lies in translating scale and capital into measurable outcomes through strategic improvements.

Key focus areas for healthcare sector development include:

• Faster regulatory clearances
• Enhanced focus on tier-2 and tier-3 infrastructure
• Sustained workforce skilling initiatives
• Stronger public-private collaboration

Moopen stressed that addressing talent shortages while enabling innovation will be critical for ensuring quality healthcare remains accessible, affordable, and sustainable for Indian families. The sector's continued resilience despite external pressures demonstrates its commitment to advancing healthcare frontiers and delivering life-saving medicines globally.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, one of India's largest drugmakers, announced on December 26 its target of achieving mid to high single-digit consolidated revenue growth in FY26. The company emphasized its continued commitment to strengthening its innovative medicines pipeline through sustained research and development investments.

R&D Investment Strategy

Research and development remains a cornerstone of Sun Pharma's growth strategy. The company has made substantial investments in this area, with key metrics highlighting its commitment:

These investments underscore the company's long-term strategy to build a robust portfolio of innovative pharmaceutical products.

US Market Policy Challenges

The revenue guidance comes at a critical time as Sun Pharma navigates evolving policy developments in the US pharmaceutical market. The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed mandatory pricing models introducing "most favoured nation" pricing across Medicare Part B and Part D drugs.

Under these proposals, drugmakers would be required to pay rebates if US prices exceed global benchmarks. The Medicare Part D proposal, known as GUARD (Guarding US Medicare Against Rising Drug Costs), aims to curb prescription drug costs, while the GLOBE model under Medicare Part B would apply similar international price comparisons.

Brokerage firm Macquarie noted that Sun Pharma has the highest exposure to branded pharmaceuticals among its peers, with approximately 20% of revenue coming from its innovative medicines portfolio. This positioning could make the company more exposed to international price benchmarking compared to competitors.

Strong Q2 Financial Performance

Sun Pharma delivered robust financial results for the quarter ended September 30, demonstrating strong operational performance:

The results exceeded market estimates of ₹29.97 billion for net profit, with revenue growth supported by an 11% increase in India sales, the company's largest market, along with steady demand across key therapeutic segments.

Market Performance

Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries ended lower on Friday, declining 0.98% to close at ₹1,720.00 on the NSE, reflecting broader market movements and investor sentiment regarding the pharmaceutical sector.