The recent Union Budget has signalled a tectonic shift in the Indian pharmaceutical landscape. With the launch of Biopharma SHAKTI (Strategy for Healthcare Advancement through Knowledge, Technology, and Innovation) and its Rs 10,000 crore outlay, India – often called the “Pharmacy of the World“, is moving from low-cost generics to high-value biosimilars.
Backed by an outlay of Rs 10,000 cr over the next five years, this mission aims to pivot India from generic manufacturing into a global innovation hub for high-value biologics and biosimilars.
The mission is built on a tripartite strategy designed to address the high costs and technical complexities of biopharmaceutical development:
Institutional Research & Talent (Knowledge)
Establishing 3 new National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs) and upgrading 7 existing ones. The goal is to create a dedicated biopharma-focused network that bridges the gap between academia and industry, ensuring a steady stream of specialized scientific talent.
Solving the Fragmentation: A 1,000-Site Clinical Network
Creating a nationwide network of over 1,000 accredited India Clinical Trial sites aiming to solve the current fragmentation in India’s clinical research. By centralizing and standardizing trial sites, the government aims to reduce drug development timelines and costs—the biggest hurdle for biosimilar companies.
Regulatory Excellence (Innovation)
Strengthening the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) with a dedicated cadre of scientific reviewers and specialists. The goal is to bring India’s regulatory approval process up to global standards. Faster, science-based, and more predictable approval timelines are intended to make India a credible destination for global biopharma manufacturing and R&D.
The billion-dollar clinical hurdle
At the heart of this revolution are two homegrown companies that are catching the keen eye of smart investors. While the industry at large prepares for the transition, these two companies are already leading the race before it even started.
In the biosimilars space, these companies are strategically positioned to potentially absorb the lion’s share of government incentives and infrastructure upgrades, making them worth a deep dive.
How the program rolls out in reality, and whether these companies can truly leverage on it, only time will tell. But for now, here are two companies that are key players in this space.
#1 Biocon Ltd: The Rs 4,150 Cr Consolidation
Incorporated in 1978, Biocon Limited is India’s largest and fully integrated, innovation-led biopharmaceutical company.
With a market cap of Rs 59,941 cr, the company is no longer just a pharma company. It is in fact a global biologics ecosystem. Following the massive integration of Viatris’ biosimilars business, Biocon has evolved into one of the few pure-play biologics leaders globally.
Biocon recently raised Rs 4,150 cr via Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP), the funds of which are being used to buy out Viatris’ stake in the biologics unit, effectively moving the company toward 100% ownership to consolidate its 100% stake in Biocon Biologics.
With that, the company can possibly be a leading beneficiary of SHAKTI’s plan to create 1,000 accredited clinical trial sites. Developing a biosimilar can cost between $100 m and $300 m, with 70% of that cost tied to clinical trials. By leveraging government-backed trial networks, Biocon can reduce customer acquisition cost, facilitating faster trials which mean an earlier market entry for leading products.
Let us look at the financials of the company to see if it has what it takes to maintain the lead.
The sales of the company have grown at a compound rate of 19% from Rs 6,367 cr in FY20 to Rs 15,262 cr in FY25, and for H1FY26, the sales reached Rs 8,238 cr.
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) was Rs 1,575 cr in FY20 and has grown at a compound rate of 16% to the FY25 figure of Rs 3,254 cr. And for H1FY26, the EBITDA logged by the company is Rs 1,584 cr.
Net Profits logged a compound growth of 7% from Rs 871 cr in FY20 to Rs 1,429 cr in FY25. For H1FY26, the company has recorded profits of Rs 222 cr.
The share price of Biocon Ltd was around Rs 407 in February 2021 and as of closing on 2nd February 2026 it was Rs 370. This decline was primarily driven by high debt levels from the $3.3 bn Viatris acquisition and regulatory delays (USFDA hurdles), though the current price reflects a strong recovery as the company de-leverages and scales its global biologics business.
At the current price, the stock is trading at a discount of 24% from its all-time high of Rs 488, giving rise to questions in investor circles if this is a good chance to enter a stock poised to ride the Biopharma SHAKTI wave.
The stock is however trading at a PE of 126x, a valuation that reflects forward-looking optimism. Investors are probably pricing in a projected big earnings CAGR through FY28 and annual interest savings of Rs 300 cr following the company’s aggressive debt reduction and the full integration of its high-growth biologics business. The industry median currently hovers around just 28x.
In interviews given post the budget by the company’s CEO & MD, Shreehas Tambe, said that the Rs 10,000 cr program is a shot in the arm and a validation of what Biocon has been advocating for years. The company’s Executive Chairperson, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, said that the initiative which includes manufacturing scale-ups, global-grade regulation, and a network of 1,000 clinical trial sites, will firmly position India as a global biopharma manufacturing hub.
#2 Zydus Lifesciences: Making Cancer Treatment Affordable
Incorporated in 1995 as Cadila Healthcare Limited, the company changed to Zydus Lifesciences Limited in February 2022.
With a market cap of Rs 88,443 cr, the company is one of the leading innovation driven pharmaceutical companies in India with presence across the pharmaceutical value chain including innovating (research & development), manufacturing, marketing and selling of finished dosage human formulations, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), animal healthcare products and consumer wellness products.
When it comes to biosimilars, Zydus has been on top of things. Recently, in January 2026, the company made global headlines as it launched Tishtha, the world’s first biosimilar of Nivolumab (Cancer Medication), just one fourth the cost of the latter.
The aim was to reach to a patient base of over 500,000 in India alone, perfectly aligning with the SHAKTI mission’s focus on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like cancer.
Plus, the budget’s upgrade of NIPERs (National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) directly feeds Zydus’s hunger for high-end biotech researchers. Add to it that SHAKTI’s plan to strengthen the CDSCO with a dedicated scientific cadre will help the company get its “first-in-world” biosimilars approved and exported faster.
Looking at the financials of the company, the sales have grown at a compound rate of 10% from Rs 14,253 cr in FY20 to Rs 23,242 cr in FY25, and for H1FY26, the sales have been about Rs 12,700 cr.
EBITDA grew from Rs 2,798 cr in FY20 to Rs 7,058 cr in FY25, logging a compound growth of 20% and for H1FY26, the EBITDA logged by the company is Rs 4,104 cr.
Net Profits went from Rs 1,204 in FY20 to Rs 4,673 in FY25, logging a compound growth of 26%. For H1FY26, the profits recorded by the company are Rs 2,760 cr.
The share price of Zydus Lifesciences Ltd was around Rs 475 in February 2021 and as of closing on 2nd February 2026 it was Rs 880, which is an 85% jump in 5 years.
The stock price has seen a sharp decline since September 2025, primarily due to sequential performance concerns and the nearing revenue cliff of their hero drug Revlimid, which saw a sharp drop in sales this past quarter. At the current price the stock is trading at a discount of 34% from its all-time high of Rs 1,324.
Looking at the valuations, the company’s share is trading at a PE of 18x, while the current industry PE is 28x.
The company’s Managing Director, Dr. Sharvil Patel, has hailed the SHAKTI initiative as a long-term vision that could significantly elevate the Indian pharmaceutical sector. He believes that the Rs 10,000 cr outlay for Biopharma SHAKTI would catapult India to the next orbit of growth by shifting the focus from being a low-cost supplier to a global innovator.
He specifically praised the plans to upgrade NIPERs (National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) and create a network of 1,000 accredited clinical trial sites, calling them steps in the right direction for building a high-quality talent pipeline.
With the company’s proprietary molecule, Saroglitazar, moving toward global launches, the SHAKTI initiative and its push for value leadership provides a more supportive regulatory and research environment for companies like Zydus Lifescience.
From Generic Dominance to Biopharma Leadership
The Biopharma SHAKTI mission represents a definitive inflection point for the Indian healthcare landscape, transitioning the sector from high-volume generics to high-value innovation. While the Rs 10,000 cr outlay provides the necessary fiscal fuel, the real value lies in the creation of a standardized clinical trial ecosystem and specialized regulatory frameworks.
For established giants like Biocon and Zydus, these reforms act as a multiplier, drastically lowering the cost of drug development and shortening the path to global market entry.
Biocon’s aggressive consolidation of its biologics arm and Zydus’s breakthrough in world-first biosimilars demonstrate that these companies are no longer just reacting to policy, they are actively shaping the frontier of affordable biotech.
Despite recent market volatility and valuation gaps, both entities possess the integrated infrastructure and research depth required to institutionalize the SHAKTI vision.
As India aims for a $300 bn bioeconomy by 2030, the shift toward Value Leadership is inevitable and Biopharma SHAKTI has just given it another big push. How Biocon and Zydus will do in the months and years to come will be fascinating story to follow. Add these stocks to your watchlist and keep and eye on them if you don’t want to miss out on any opportunity that might emerge.
Note: We have relied on data from www.Screener.in and www.trendlyne.com throughout this article. Only in cases where the data was not available, have we used an alternate, but widely used and accepted source of information.
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Suhel Khan has been a passionate follower of the markets for over a decade. During this period, He was an integral part of a leading Equity Research organisation based in Mumbai as the Head of Sales & Marketing. Presently, he is spending most of his time dissecting the investments and strategies of the Super Investors of India.
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