Pharma major Lupin is stepping up its focus on biosimilars with ambitious revenue targets, according to Executive Director and Global Chief Financial Officer Ramesh Swaminathan. The company expects biosimilars turnover to close to about $500 million over the next five years, as reported by Business Standard. This represents a significant expansion from the company's recent entry into the biosimilars market, with Lupin receiving its first approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in December 2025 for its biosimilar of cancer drug pegfilgrastim. The company is currently planning to bring biosimilars of cancer drugs Nivolumab, Dinuzumab and Pertuzumab to India, while also marketing products such as a biosimilar of the autoimmune condition drug Etanercept in Europe and Japan through partnerships.
Lupin shares gained over 1% in morning trade on Thursday after Nomura reaffirmed its 'Buy' rating and target price of ₹2,675. At 11:10 am, the stock was trading at ₹2,070.20 on the NSE, up ₹25.20 or 1.23%. Nomura said management's goal is to build the specialty and innovation business over the long run, with "one-third of company revenues from the segment in the next 10 years". The brokerage expects Lupin to sustainably grow 20-30% ahead of the broader India market in the medium term, with cardiac, anti-diabetic and respiratory contributing ~60% of sales and expected to be key growth drivers over the next five years.
The company has several key products lined up for launch across major markets. Pegfilgrastim is set to enter the US market, while ophthalmic drug Ranibizumab is positioned for launches across the US, Europe and Japan. Lupin has previously partnered with US-based pharma company Viatris for the promotion of Etanercept in global markets, though this mandate later shifted to Biocon Biologicals after it acquired Viatris's global biosimilar operations. The company also partners with global pharma firms like Sandoz and Biogaran for distribution in the European Union market. In the African market, Lupin already has a strong presence in anti-tuberculosis and anti-rabies vaccines, which are significant markets for the region, as reported by Business Standard.
To support its biosimilars expansion, Lupin has invested about ₹500 crore in biosimilar manufacturing capacity so far and plans to increase its total investment to around ₹700 crore, as reported by Business Standard. The company currently has about 11,000 litres of mammalian and 100 litres of microbial capacity, both of which are being expanded. Swaminathan noted that the company does not have a fixed commercialisation model for the portfolio and plans to use a mix of partnerships, third-party distribution and its own sales force depending on the product and market. This flexible approach allows Lupin to optimize its resources based on individual product requirements and market conditions.
On the US business, Nomura said the trough is likely to be short-lived, with US revenues potentially exceeding FY26F levels in two years. Near-term US revenues are expected to decline sequentially due to additional competition in gJynarque (Tolvaptan), its largest product. However, Nomura expects the base business EBITDA margin, without high-value product launches, to remain at 20-21% and aims to reach 24-25% over the years as the business mix improves. The brokerage highlighted that Apixaban 505b(2) and pegfilgrastim are two material near-term opportunities, with Apixaban's current brand sales around $10 billion and Lupin expecting to launch its 505b(2) product in Q1FY28E. Management also expects to sustain double-digit growth in other markets outside India and the US over the medium term.
