&w=3840&q=100)
CDMOs gear up for peptide boom amid rising demand for weight-loss drugs
India is poised to play a critical role in the global manufacturing of GLP-1 drugs, driven by soaring demand for therapies like semaglutide and tirzepatide. The GLP-1 market is projected to exceed $150 billion by 2030.
India's peptide CDMO market, currently estimated at around $80 million, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14 per cent until 2030. Though the country currently accounts for just 3 per cent of the global peptide CDMO space—valued at $190 billion—the growth momentum is unmistakable, according to Nilaya Varma, Co-founder and Group CEO of Primus Partners. Top Indian players in the space include Glenmark, Cipla, Divi's Laboratories, Themis Medicare, Peptomer Therapeutics, Syngene International, and Sai Life Sciences.
Semaglutide patent expiry fuels strategic activity
Semaglutide, the active ingredient in drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, is owned and produced by Novo Nordisk and is set to go off-patent in India in March 2026. Leading pharmaceutical companies, including Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Mankind Pharma, Natco Pharma, Lupin, and Biocon, are preparing to launch drugs in this category. These companies are investing in R&D, manufacturing capacity, and collaborations to compete in this rapidly growing market.
Anthem Biosciences is experiencing a surge in inquiries for peptide active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), including those related to weight loss. 'Semaglutide can be produced through total synthesis or biosynthetic routes. Very few companies in India can manage biosynthetic production—and we are one of them,' said Ganesh Sambasivam, Promoter and Chief Scientific Officer at Anthem. While he declined to confirm whether semaglutide is in active production at Anthem, he hinted that it may be among the peptides currently in development.
Syngene highlights technical edge in peptide trials
Jayashree Aiyar, Chief Scientific Officer at Syngene International, sees opportunities not just in manufacturing, but also in preclinical and clinical development. 'We've already supported preclinical studies on semaglutide and recently helped a global pharma company with a bioequivalence study using pre-filled pens,' Aiyar said. These studies included developing and validating sensitive LC-MS/MS methods to measure semaglutide plasma levels—a significant technical challenge for peptides.
Syngene's case study on semaglutide demonstrates the rigorous planning and execution required for clinical bioequivalence trials involving peptides. With gastrointestinal side effects common among test subjects, the company had to implement robust risk management and continuous patient support mechanisms. On the analytical front, it overcame complex challenges like autosampler carryover and low detection limits through custom-developed chromatography and mass spectrometry protocols.
'While we are not currently manufacturing GLP-1 APIs, we are well-equipped with peptide scale-up and fill–finish capabilities. We continue to invest in technologies to meet future market needs,' Aiyar added.
Production and compliance challenges persist
However, peptide manufacturing comes with its own set of challenges. 'There are production hurdles involving the availability of protected amino acids, coupling reagents, and advanced purification protocols, particularly for bulk APIs,' Varma noted. These challenges, combined with high utility costs and stringent environmental controls, add pressure to meet international compliance standards. Schemes such as the 2024 Production Linked Incentive (PLI) and Greenfield Bulk Drug Park initiatives are expected to ease some of these bottlenecks.
While some CDMOs are already entrenched in the space, others are evaluating the landscape. Kashmik Formulations, for instance, is not currently working on semaglutide or related APIs, nor has it received client inquiries. However, the company sees the patent expiry of semaglutide as a potential inflection point. 'We're open to collaborations with larger players who can provide validated processes,' the company said in a statement.
Diabetes burden drives urgency for scalable solutions
The spike in demand is closely linked to a global epidemic of lifestyle diseases. Arushi Jain, Director at Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, underscores this urgency. 'Over 100 million Indians are living with diabetes, underlining the need for scalable therapeutic solutions that address root causes such as obesity.' Akums is actively tracking developments in weight-loss APIs.
As patents for semaglutide and similar molecules expire, Indian CDMOs are gearing up for a new wave of growth. Equipped with scientific expertise, evolving infrastructure, and an appetite for collaboration, the Indian peptide manufacturing ecosystem is emerging as a vital player in the global fight against obesity and metabolic diseases.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
16 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Gujarat to create genome database of tribal communities: what's the project, why
In a first in the country, the Gujarat government has announced a genome sequencing project to create a database from 29 tribal groups across 17 districts of the state. The exercise, a local extension of the recently completed Genome India Project (GIP), will be carried out over the next five years. The entire eastern belt of Gujarat, which shares borders with Rajasthan in the north, Madhya Pradesh in the east and Maharashtra in the south, has districts with a predominantly tribal population. The Genome India Project — its report was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January — saw 10,000 genomes from 83 diverse groups processed and stored at the Indian Biological Data Centre. It had around 1,800 samples from Gujarat, which included around 100 samples from tribal communities, not enough to represent them. Thus, the Gujarat Tribal Genome Sequencing Project aims to gain critical insight into the genetic makeup of these tribal groups, which, at 15% of the state's population, consist of approximately 1 crore people. This initiative is also expected to enrich the Central Genome India dataset. The project, approved in the Gujarat budget of 2025-26, will be helmed by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC). Implications of the project Mona Khandhar, Principal Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, said the understanding of genome characteristics will help the government in making more focused programmes. Subject enrollment will take place after a formal launch of the project by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, so that awareness begins before field researchers go to the villages. 'Our field teams will seek help from the local administration, communities, as well as the political leadership. This is why it was important to explain the project to MPs and MLAs. We are also taking help from researchers at Birsa Munda Bhavan and the Tribal Development Department,' said a scientist involved in the project. The project's six-point agenda includes capturing the unique diversity of India's population, improving diagnosis of rare diseases, supporting development of novel drugs, developing precision medical treatments tailored to genetic profiles, building a genomic reference panel for the tribal population, and boosting public health research infrastructure. Many among the tribal communities from Gujarat have excelled in sports. Director of GBRC Prof Chaitanya Joshi said, 'These tribes can be very good in, say, archery, or skills other communities may not have. So what are the genes associated with that? With this project, skill sets associated with genes can be identified.' Health aspect Health problems like malnutrition, anaemia, low BMI, prevalence of genetic diseases like sickle cell anaemia, G6PD deficiency are common in the tribal communities in Gujarat. Scientist and Joint Director at the GBRC Amrutlal K Patel said, 'So far, the medicines developed have been studied on the western population and we haven't explored the Indian genome. Diseases are more prevalent in specific communities and ethnicity also due to the Indian tradition of endogamy, as a result of which genome variations are conserved within castes.' Patel gave an example of how deaths due to organ failure were reported in certain tribes when they crossed 30 years of age. Two years ago, the GBRC researched some patients and their first degree family members, and found this was due to the mutation of the transthyretin (TTR) gene, resulting in the aggregation of protein that reached the organs, causing failure. Some mutations increase the chances of a disease, for instance BRCA1 and 2 genes in breast cancer. These are generally detected after 50 years of age and after tests. 'We can identify these in advance and design a policy that can prevent the prevalence of breast cancer. All these measures decline the disease burden on the community and thus the state government,' a scientist said. The process As part of this project, scientists will collect samples from 4,158 individuals from various tribal communities, including data on their physical measurements and blood biochemistry, and create a 2,000-strong diverse database of tribal genomes. 'We will genotype the samples and remove those that are genetically close to each other. Out of 4,158, we will do SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) type genotyping and take those with the most diverse genetics. The precaution is also because there might be bias during sample collection, which can then be eliminated at the analysis stage,' an official said. Of these, 378 will be trio samples. This means that samples will be taken of three members of the same family, including an individual as well as his/her biological parents. The other 3,780 will be individual samples. Apart from blood samples, stool samples will also be collected for microbial information. The role of the tribal department, according to Shahmeena Husain, principal secretary, will be to facilitate the technical team. 'We will facilitate the technical team as it will be a task to convince people to give samples.' Apart from name, education, medical history, information collected would include genealogical tree and addictions, physical characteristics like height, weight, BP, blood sugar, and waist measurement. The analysis After the samples have been collected, they will be stored at GBRC, where haematological and biochemical analysis of blood samples will take place. 'First, when the samples come from the field to the lab in Gandhinagar, they will be given Unique IDs. So those who receive the samples will neither know the gender nor the tribe of the person whose sample they are running through the process. This first round of encryption will be stored in our servers. Then, when it goes into the final process of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), the data will be encrypted for the second time,' said a researcher close to the project. Joshi said Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, which have 22% and 21% tribal population respectively, have shown interest in the project. 'Modalities on whether they want to be a part of it or contribute to it will be decided by the state, but if they approach us, we are ready.'
The Hindu
16 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Crops loans of ₹53,340 crore provided to 66.24 lakh farmers through Cooperation Dept, says T.N. govt.
Crop loans to the tune of ₹53,340 crore were provided to over 66.24 lakh farmers across the State through the Cooperation Department during the past four years, the Tamil Nadu government said on Sunday (July 20, 2025). It also waived jewel loans worth ₹4,904 crore that benefited over 11.70 lakh people. Self-help group (SHG) loans amounting to ₹2,118.80 crore were waived for over 1.01 lakh self help groups, and the loan limit for women self-help groups was increased, providing ₹10,997 crore in loans, an official release listing out the steps undertaken by the Cooperation Department over the past four years said. Over 11.88 lakh farmers received ₹6,372 crore in loans for livestock development, and loans totalling ₹225.94 crore were provided to 47,221 differently-abled individuals. About 16,500 working women received loans to the tune of ₹470 crore in loans and over 49,000 women entrepreneurs were provided with ₹283.27 crore in loans. Under the Annal Ambedkar Business Pioneer Scheme, 86 sanitation workers received ₹52.34 crore in loans to become entrepreneurs and multi-purpose cooperative societies disbursed loans totaling ₹1,121.31 crore were provided, it said. 'A new arts and science college was established in Attur through the Cooperation Department.' To protect and uplift folk artists who rely on their art for livelihood, and to improve their social, economic, and financial status, loans totaling ₹18.80 crore have been provided to 4,494 folk artists so far, it said. Training fees amounting to ₹38.50 lakh for poor students studying in the two Cooperative Industrial Training Institutes in Bargur, Krishnagiri District, and Pattukkottai, Thanjavur District, were waived for the academic years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. In line with the Chief Minister's Independence Day speech last year, he launched the projects to establish 1,000 Chief Minister's Pharmacies through which generic medicines, branded medicines, nutraceuticals, and Indian medicines were provided to the public at a 25% discount.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
16 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Need to look at safeguard extension and rate levied: JSW's Jayant Acharya
Q1 was disrupted by plant maintenance shutdowns at Dolvi and Bhushan Power and Steel (BPSL), which had an impact on our costs both for capex and operations premium Ishita Ayan Dutt Kolkata Listen to This Article The interim safeguard duty of 12 per cent has cushioned the Indian steel industry from cheap imports, but JSW Joint Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Jayant Acharya tells Ishita Ayan Dutt in an audio interview that tariff uncertainties are leading to trade diversions from Russia and Asean countries, and India needs to wall up to support private capex in steel industry. Edited excerpts: The provisional safeguard is for 200 days. Are you in favour of a longer duration safeguard? Yes. In Europe, it has been valid for multiple years. In addition, Europe has anti-dumping on various countries. Then they
