India Pharma Giants & Global Big Pharma Partner for NMEs in India

The pharma landscape has significantly shifted towards collaboration and partnership between global big pharma and Indian pharma firms in recent years to drive innovation and expand market reach. This strategic alliance brings together the strengths and resources of both parties to accelerate commercialization. The focus is on introducing new molecular entities (NMEs) into India, with both parties contributing to accelerate commercialization and address evolving healthcare needs, finds GlobalData.

According to GlobalData’s Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center, between January 2019 and February 2024, 32 deals (Strategic alliances – excluding deals for co-development) for NMEs took place in India. Interestingly, six deals are involved in co-marketing NMEs in India.

Notable partnerships for co-marketing happened between Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer Inc for abrocitinib in January 2024; Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Boehringer Ingelheim for Empagliflozin and its fixed-dose combinations in December 2022; Cipla and Eli Lilly and Co for dulaglutide and Humalog in October 2021; Cipla, and F. Hoffmann La Roche for bevacizumab, trastuzumab and rituximab in June 2020.

Jithendra Kancharla, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments, “The collaboration between Indian pharma giants and global big pharma companies complements the strengths of both parties. Indian companies bring their expanded sales force presence and deep understanding of the local market dynamics. On the other hand, global pharmaceutical giants contribute their extensive experience in marketing innovative therapies and in-hand promotional material.”

Most of the deals for NMEs revolved around infectious diseases for battling COVID-19 during the pandemic. Apart from these, oncology, cardiovascular, and metabolic disorders are the key areas of interest for the companies. India, known for its huge population, is an emerging market driven by rising healthcare expenditure, an increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and a growing demand for innovative therapies.