The Indian medical industry is famous everywhere for treatments that don’t break the bank and they work. People from all corners of the planet head to India for operations and vaccine shots that cost less.
India might undoubtedly be referred to as “The pharmacy of the world”. To gain a better understanding of India’s pharmaceutical industry, let’s look at the best pharma stocks in India.
Indian pharma sector overview
Indians, as their earnings grow, are looking for higher-quality and cutting-edge medical care for themselves and their loved ones. This explains why experts predict the domestic drug market will hit $130 billion by 2030.
At home or in far-off lands Indian medical products are in high demand. These goods hit the shelves in over 200 places around the globe. The drug market in India is responsible for exporting 40% of America’s generic medicines and a quarter of all the meds used by the British. When it comes to shipping medicines across borders, India stands at number 12, having exported drugs worth a whopping $27.9 billion by the time 2024 rolled around.
Also read: The pharmaceutical industry in India and its contribution to the world
Health policies vary across the globe, and India is not behind. The interim budget for 2024-25 earmarks ₹1000 crore to build bulk drug parks. They are also pouring in ₹1300 crore to pump up the pharma sector.
The Indian pharma sector benefits from its low-cost structure. It makes high-quality products at lower prices. Take the Epipen as an example. This allergy medication cost $600 in the US in 2023. The same drug was priced at $30 in India. This price gap explains why Indian medical exports and medical tourism have growth potential.
Top pharma stocks in India
Here is the list of the top 5 pharma companies in India as compared by market capitalization on November 25, 2024:
- Sun pharmaceuticals industries ltd: Sun Pharma ranks as the fourth biggest maker of generic drugs worldwide. This company runs 41 manufacturing plants and sells its products to over 100 countries as of Q2FY25. It gets 68% of its money from selling abroad. Sun Pharma also produces branded drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
- Divis Laboratories ltd: Divis laboratories Ltd runs its business out of Hyderabad and operates two production plants. This company manufactures health supplements and APIs and then distributes them all over the world. They have customers in more than 95 countries.
- Cipla Ltd: Cipla ltd, a major name in Indian pharma, pulled in 58% of its total sales from overseas during FY25’s second part. With a team of well over 25,000 strong, Cipla has manufacturing operations in 47 spots across six different countries. In India’s lung treatment space, they’ve grabbed a one-fourth share of the whole market.
Also read: Cipla vs Sun Pharma: Titans of India’s pharmaceutical industry
- Torrent Pharma ltd: Torrent pharma is part of the Torrent group. With a strong focus on making and selling generic drugs, they keep a team of more than 750 scientists busy and boast over 2000 product approvals. During the first half of the fiscal year 2025, 56% of their revenue came from customers in India. Plus, they operate in upwards of 50 nations.
- Mankind pharma ltd: Mankind pharma ltd is pretty big on creating meds for both fleeting and lasting health problems, not to mention dipping their toes into products for consumer health. In the second three-month period of FY25, domestic sales brought in a hefty 90.8% of their sales. They also run an impressive 30 production sites across India.
Here’s the financial performance of the aforementioned companies in FY24.
| Fundamental metrics (In ₹ Cr) | Sun Pharma | Divis Labs. | Cipla | Torrent pharma | Mankind pharma |
| Market cap. | 4,32,996 | 1,63,160 | 1,21,773 | 1,10,277 | 1,05,294 |
| Sales | 48,497 | 7,845 | 25,774 | 10,728 | 9,265 |
| Expenses | 35,479 | 5,635 | 19,483 | 7,360 | 6,939 |
| Profit before tax | 11,088 | 2,163 | 5,702 | 2,352 | 2,260 |
| Net profit | 9,610 | 1,600 | 4,154 | 1,656 | 1,823 |
| Net Profit % | 19.8% | 20.39% | 16.11% | 15.43% | 19.67% |
| 1-year Return (as on Nov 25, 2024) | 50.48% | 63.05% | 25.42% | 56.24% | 36.44% |
Key considerations before investing in pharma sector
While the Pharma industry provided solid earnings for its backers before, it’s not wise to dump all your cash into this field right away. Always remember that past returns do not guarantee future returns.
Also read: Key risks in investing in the stock market
There is a very important factor that negatively affects this sector time and again that is regulatory changes. The pharma companies involved in various countries and segments often face regulatory challenges. The operations of these businesses may be negatively impacted by any changes to national laws or regulations. Delayed approvals can also lead to losses.
If any of their products show negative side effects, then these companies can face huge lawsuits, government penalties, and a complete halt of operations. This also damages their reputation for other segments they are involved in as well as future prospects of business.
These companies also have to deal with high competition and huge research and development costs. It is necessary to extensively study this industry and its businesses before investing in it. Even after investing their money in the sector, investors should constantly keep themselves updated on upcoming developments.
Bottomline
So you’ve got the essence of the Indian pharma sector. Time to dig and spot those money-making opportunities. Do not forget that the pharma sector is a high risk and reward sector.
Nail your investment in the best pharma stocks, and you might just hit the jackpot, provided you’re clued up and careful.
FAQs
1: Which is the largest pharma company in India ?
As of November 25, 2024, Sun Pharmaceutical was the largest pharmaceutical company with a market value of ₹4,32,996 crore. This giant operates in more than 100 nations and runs over 41 manufacturing sites.
2: Which is the biggest pharma company in the world ?
Eli Lilly from the U.S. claims the title with a staggering market value of ₹57.69 lakh crore on November 25, 2024. During the financial cycle 2023, it banked a tidy sum of ₹55,230 crore as net gain.
3: which are the top 5 pharma stocks in India ?
As of November 25, 2024, the largest Indian pharma companies by market size are Sun Pharma, Divis Labs, Cipla Ltd, Torrent Pharma, and Mankind Pharma.
4: Which pharma company is best for long term investment ?
Sun Pharma can be a good long-term investment because of its history of high profitability and steady growth. Even in FY24, this company had a net profit margin of 19.8%.
5: Which large-cap pharma company has the best 1-year return ?
Lupin, a heavyweight in the pharmaceutical sector, recorded the strongest one-year gain at 69.49% as of November 25, 2025. Its market value reached ₹96,413 crore on that day.
