The Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) industry in India is a fast-growing segment of the pharmaceutical sector that provides outsourced drug development and manufacturing services to global pharma and biotech companies.
Instead of building expensive R&D labs and manufacturing plants themselves, pharmaceutical firms hire CDMOs to develop, test, and manufacture medicines on a contract basis.
In simple terms, CDMO companies help pharma firms move a drug from early development to commercial manufacturing.
Their services can include formulation development, process optimization, clinical trial batch production, large-scale manufacturing, packaging, and regulatory support.
This outsourcing allows pharmaceutical companies to focus on drug discovery and marketing while reducing costs and speeding up time-to-market.
India has emerged as a major global hub for CDMO services because of its strong chemistry expertise, large pool of scientists, and lower manufacturing costs compared with Western countries.
Here are 5 best CDMO Pharma stocks to invest. These companies have been selected from the Equitymaster’s screener.
In choosing the 5 best companies we have kept in mind a strong and proven track record of profitability and ROCE of more than 10%.
#1 Laurus Labs
First on our list is the stock of Laurus Labs.
Laurus Labs is a research-driven pharmaceutical manufacturer that develops and produces Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), intermediates, and finished dosage formulations used in medicines worldwide.
The company operates 15+ manufacturing facilities and several R&D centres in India. It serves 200+ customers across 50+ countries. It supplies APIs to many of the world’s largest generic drug firms.
On the financial front, Laurus Labs reported revenues of Rs 17,783 m in Q3 FY26, against Rs 14,151 m YoY. The company reported net profits of Rs 2,531 m vs Rs 906 m YoY.
On the CDMO side, the company continued to see strong interest in its integrated service offerings across various complex technology platforms.
The cumulative 9-month performance has been healthy, clocking more than 50% growth. The CDMO business has been supported by strong recurring business from its existing long-term customer relationships across various scales.
Moving ahead, Laurus Labs has made significant investments in peptide development and manufacturing infrastructure to meet its current and future capacity requirements.
In addition, the company has operationalised its antibody drug conjugate and gene therapy process development labs in Hyderabad. The construction of GMP manufacturing facility is on track.
In December 2025, Laurus Labs announced an increase in joint investments in Krka Pharma which will support ongoing FDA facility construction in Hyderabad. Phase-1 is expected to be completed by mid-2027.
The prospects of Laurus Labs are positive, mainly because the company is transitioning from a traditional generic API manufacturer to a high-margin CDMO and biotech-focused pharma company.
How Laurus Labs Share Price has Performed Recently
In the last five days, Laurus Labs shares have moved lower to Rs 1,025.5 from Rs 1,095.
Over the past year, the shares are up 79%.
The stock touched its 52-week high of Rs 1,140.9 on 7 January 2026 and its 52-week low of Rs 517.05 on 7 April 2025.
Laurus Labs Share Price – 1 Month
Data Source: BSE
#2 Divis Laboratories
Next on our list is the stock of Divis Laboratories.
Divis Laboratories is an Indian pharmaceutical company primarily focused on active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates segment.
It’s one of the leading CMOs for global pharmaceutical companies, supplying APIs used in generic drugs, biosimilars, and innovative formulations. The company has a strong presence in exports, with a significant portion of revenue coming from regulated markets like the US, Europe, and Japan.
The company’s revenues for Q3 FY26 were Rs 26,040 m compared to Rs 23,190 m YoY. For Q3 FY26, Divis Laboratories reported a net profit of Rs 5,830 m compared to Rs 5,890 m YoY.
On the generics segment, the management said while the pricing environment remains competitive, the company is seeing a healthy volume traction in certain emerging and focused products.
Moving ahead, in the custom synthesis segment, Divis Labs has been actively engaged in several RFPs and customer visits. Multiple projects are progressing well and are at various stages of development, validation with a few moving closer to commercial volumes over the next one year.
On the manufacturing front, Unit 3 at Kakinada is playing an important role for the company in its backward integration strategy.
The operational blocks are being effectively used for starting materials and intermediates, strengthening its supply chain. Expansions and transfer activities are still on with additional manufacturing blocks being progressed as planned.
In another positive development, the company has recently successfully concluded a US FDA general CGMP inspection at its Unit 1 Choutuppal facility.
Overall, the company is a quality, export-oriented pharmaceutical maker with strong structural growth tailwinds, particularly in complex APIs and contract manufacturing.
How Divis Laboratories Share Price has Performed Recently
In the last five days Divis Labs shares has moved marginally lower to Rs 6,327 from Rs 6,432.
Over the past year, the shares are up 14%.
The stock touched its 52-week high of Rs 7,077.7 on 8 July 2025 and its 52-week low of Rs 4,941.7 on 7 April 2025.
Divis Laboratories Share Price – 1 Month
Data Source: BSE
#3 Syngene International
Syngene International is one of India’s leading CDMO companies serving global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. It essentially provides “science as a service”—helping drug companies discover, develop, and manufacture medicines without building their own large R&D infrastructure.
On the financial front, for Q3 FY26, revenue from operations declined 3% YoY to Rs 9,170 m. The operating EBITDA was Rs 2,090 m, with a margin of 23%. The net profits dropped to Rs 150 m from Rs 1,311 m YoY.
The key variable impacting the 3rd quarter performance was the ongoing impact related to a single commercial stage product from Syngene’s largest large molecule biologics customer.
Moving ahead, in its CDMO business, Syngene International is seeing increased capacity utilisation in both small molecules and large molecules as it attracts new customers.
The company recently extended its relationship with Bristol Myers Squibb, and is now supporting Bristol Myers with over 700 scientists. The company has extended the collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb through to 2035.
Syngene International has also expanded its advanced chemistry capabilities at Hyderabad with new catalytic screening and flow chemistry laboratories. These facilities allow multiple reaction conditions to be evaluated parallel, improving speed, efficiency and scalability.
The company also commissioned a new commercial-scale facility for liquid-filled hard gelatin capsules, significantly enhancing its oral solid dosage platform.
At the company’s Bayview Biologics facility in the US, process and equipment validation are now complete and hiring is underway to support operations.
The management believes the differentiated scientific capabilities, strong client relationships and a diversified business model in research services and CDMO provides resilience, balance, and growth.
These strengths, combined with disciplined investments in technology, AI and new capabilities and capacity, position Syngene International well to strengthen its service proposition to its wide and growing customer base.
How Syngene International Share Price has Performed Recently
In the last five days Syngene International shares have moved lower to Rs 399 from Rs 419.1.
Over the past year, the shares are down more than 41%.
The stock touched its 52-week high of Rs 760.95 on 3 April 2025 and its 52-week low of Rs 381.05 on 2 March 2026.
Syngene International Share Price – 1 Month
Data Source: BSE
#4 Gland Pharma
Next on our list is the stock of Gland Pharma.
Gland Pharma is an Indian pharmaceutical company that specialises in generic injectable medicines and contract manufacturing (CDMO) for global drug companies. It’s headquartered in Hyderabad, India and is one of the major injectable-focused pharma companies from India.
On the financial front, the company reported revenues of Rs 16,954 m vs Rs 13,841 m YoY. The company reported a net profit of Rs 2,615 vs Rs 2,047 m YoY.
Moving ahead, the company’s pipeline of complex products including hormones suspensions, peptides, RTU bags, co-development programs, biosimilars and specialty injectable platforms, provides long-term growth visibility.
Gland Pharma has also secured multiple new CDMO partnerships across oncology, peptides and prefilled syringe.
Over the next 5 years, Gland Pharma plans to invest approximately Rs 20 bn in capex, primarily towards BFS and ophthalmic lines as well as capex towards CDMO contracts. Brownfield expansions will include new lines, lyophilizers and additional warehouse capacity.
In late January 2026, the management articulated a strategy to cater to high-end innovation-led CDMO and specialty injectables.
This translates in to focus on capex and brownfield expenses to build differentiated capabilities, R&D investments to strengthen the product pipeline, cost efficiency initiatives and to protect margins.
How Gland Pharma Share Price has Performed Recently
In the last five days Gland Pharma shares have moved lower to Rs 1,669 from Rs 1,840.
Over the past year, the shares are little changed.
The stock touched its 52-week high of Rs 2,130 on 29 July 2025 and its 52-week low of Rs 1,200 on 7 April 2025.
Gland Pharma Share Price – 1 Month
Data Source: BSE
#5 Akums Drugs and Pharmaceuticals
Akums Drugs and Pharma is one of India’s largest CDMOs focused mainly on formulations. The company manufactures pharmaceutical products for many domestic and international pharma brands that sell them under their own labels.
On the financial front, the company reported revenues of Rs 11,596 m vs Rs 10,104 m YoY. The company reported a net profit of Rs 677 vs Rs 663 m YoY.
In Q3 FY26, while API pricing stayed under pressure, stability in select molecules and disciplined cost management helped mitigate impact on the CDMO margins.
Akums Drugs successfully advanced on the regulatory and execution milestones. Following the receipt of EU GMP accreditation for its oral liquids facility plant number 2, the company is on track to start supplies in FY28.
The oral solid facility Plant 1 also received renewal of EU GMP certification. Supply of finished oral formulation from Plant 1 to Europe has already commenced this fiscal. The Zambia project also remains on track, with commercial supplies from the plant expected in H1 of FY 27.
Akums Drugs and Pharma benefits from the increasing trend of pharma outsourcing, rising domestic medicine demand, and expansion into exports.
However, margins can be relatively lower than branded pharma companies because the business is largely contract manufacturing–driven and volume dependent.
How Akums Drugs and Pharma Share Price has Performed Recently
In the last five days, Akums Drugs shares have moved marginally lower to Rs 478 from Rs 476.
Over the past year, the shares have dropped 7%.
The stock touched its 52-week high of Rs 620 on 27 May 2025 and its 52-week low of Rs 407.40 on 7 April 2025.
Akums Drugs and Pharma Share Price – 1 Month
Data Source: BSE
How to invest in CDMO Pharma Stocks in India
Investing in CDMO pharma stocks in India can be a good long-term strategy because many global pharma companies outsource drug development and manufacturing to specialised partners to save cost and speed up drug launches.
Here is a simple framework to invest in CDMO pharma stocks in India…
1. First understand the CDMO business model
A CDMO company does work for global pharmaceutical firms such as:
- Drug development
- Process optimization
- Clinical trial batch production
- Commercial manufacturing
Instead of building expensive facilities, pharma companies outsource these activities to CDMOs.
This results in:
- Long-term contracts
- High margins
- Sticky relationships with big pharma.
2. Focus on pure-play CDMO companies
Look for companies where a large portion of revenue comes from CDMO/CRAMS services rather than generics.
3. Evaluate the order book and pipeline
The most important metric in CDMO investing is the pipeline of molecules under development.
Check:
- Number of molecules in Phase I, II, III trials
- Commercialized products
- Long-term supply agreements with big pharma
If a drug reaches commercialization, CDMO revenue can grow for 10–15 years.
4. Look for global regulatory approvals
Top CDMO companies usually have approvals from:
- USFDA
- EMA (Europe)
- PMDA (Japan)
Facilities with these approvals can supply to global markets and command better pricing.
5. Study capacity expansion
The CDMO industry grows through capex and new manufacturing blocks.
Look for companies investing in:
- biologics
- peptides
- antibody drug conjugates
- high-potency APIs
New plants often lead to revenue growth after 2–3 years.
6. Valuation discipline
Many CDMO stocks trade at high valuations. Buying during correction helps.
7. Diversify within CDMO
Instead of one stock, own 3–4 leaders. This reduces risk because drug pipelines are unpredictable.
Should You Consider CDMO Pharma Stocks?
Investing in Indian CDMO stocks potentially offers a high-growth opportunity linked to global supply chain diversification.
By focusing on firms with strong regulatory track records and robust order pipelines, investors can capture value from the structural shift toward outsourced pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Investors should evaluate the company’s fundamentals, corporate governance, and valuations of the stock as key factors when conducting due diligence before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such. Learn more about our recommendation services here…
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