Eli Lilly’s $1 billion India investment to boost local CMOs and suppliers
The investment will enhance manufacturing and supply capabilities for Lilly’s growing portfolio and improve access to its medicines worldwide.
- Oct 7, 2025,
- Updated Oct 7, 2025 3:59 PM IST
Eli Lilly and Company has announced plans to invest more than $1 billion over the next few years to expand contract manufacturing operations in India.
The move is expected to benefit domestic contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs), suppliers, and technology partners, while strengthening India’s position as a global pharmaceutical hub.
The investment will enhance manufacturing and supply capabilities for Lilly’s growing portfolio and improve access to its medicines worldwide.
A new Manufacturing and Quality hub in Hyderabad will oversee the company’s contract manufacturing network across India. Recruitment for engineers, chemists, analytical scientists, quality control and assurance professionals, and management roles is set to begin immediately.
Lilly already operates a commercial site in Gurugram and specialised facilities in Bengaluru and Hyderabad that support its global innovation network. Analysts believe the planned investment could integrate effectively with this ecosystem, benefiting domestic CMOs, raw material suppliers, and technology partners.
India’s pharmaceutical industry was valued at about ₹4.15 lakh crore in FY24 and is projected to reach ₹10.8 lakh crore by 2030, according to the Department of Pharmaceuticals. The country accounts for nearly 20 per cent of global generic medicine exports by volume, as per the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance.
According to Mordor Intelligence, India’s CMO market is expected to reach ₹2.14 lakh crore in 2025, growing at nearly 15 per cent annually. Persistence Market Research projects the broader contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) market will rise from ₹1.83 lakh crore in 2024 to around ₹4.54 lakh crore by 2031, driven by increasing global demand for cost-effective, high-quality production.
Salil Kallianpur, pharma analyst, said: “Lilly is one of the top global innovators with blockbuster products such as Mounjaro (tirzepatide) for diabetes and obesity. Instead of building only its own facilities, it is choosing to anchor its production ecosystem in India using Indian CMOs, suppliers, and technology partners.”
He added, “The explosive global demand for GLP-1 drugs such as Mounjaro and Zepbound has created unprecedented manufacturing bottlenecks. With cost and capacity constraints in the US and EU, India provides an efficient, scalable alternative. Over recent years, India’s quality and compliance standards have improved, with world-class CMOs such as Divi’s Laboratories, Syngene, Piramal Pharma, Biocon Biologics, and Gland Pharma gaining global trust.”
“As the US and EU aim to reduce reliance on China for APIs and intermediates, India is emerging as the natural alternative,” Kallianpur said. “This investment deepens India’s role in the high-value global supply chain as Lilly transfers technology, quality systems, and digital manufacturing know-how to its Indian partners. It also spurs secondary growth for packaging, cold-chain logistics, engineering services, and raw-material suppliers.”
He added, “Lilly’s $1 billion isn’t just capital expenditure — it’s a vote of confidence in India’s ability to meet global quality and innovation expectations.”
Kallianpur said he is bullish on Divi’s Laboratories, which could become a key peptide CDMO if chosen for tirzepatide. Other companies likely to benefit include Syngene, Piramal Pharma, Biocon Biologics, Gland Pharma, and Laurus Labs, through biologics, fill-finish, or analytical testing.
Vishal Manchanda, Vice President, Institutional Research, Systematix, added: “The only viable options for innovators for high-volume APIs are India or China. Lilly’s choice of India reflects an internal strategic preference.”
Since 2020, Lilly has committed more than $55 billion globally to expand facilities for medicines treating diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. “We are making significant investments to increase manufacturing and medicine supply capacity around the world to help ensure patients have access to the medicines they need,” said Patrik Jonsson, Executive Vice President and President, Lilly International.
“This investment reaffirms our confidence in India as a hub for capability building within our global network,” he added.
Eli Lilly and Company has announced plans to invest more than $1 billion over the next few years to expand contract manufacturing operations in India.
The move is expected to benefit domestic contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs), suppliers, and technology partners, while strengthening India’s position as a global pharmaceutical hub.
The investment will enhance manufacturing and supply capabilities for Lilly’s growing portfolio and improve access to its medicines worldwide.
A new Manufacturing and Quality hub in Hyderabad will oversee the company’s contract manufacturing network across India. Recruitment for engineers, chemists, analytical scientists, quality control and assurance professionals, and management roles is set to begin immediately.
Lilly already operates a commercial site in Gurugram and specialised facilities in Bengaluru and Hyderabad that support its global innovation network. Analysts believe the planned investment could integrate effectively with this ecosystem, benefiting domestic CMOs, raw material suppliers, and technology partners.
India’s pharmaceutical industry was valued at about ₹4.15 lakh crore in FY24 and is projected to reach ₹10.8 lakh crore by 2030, according to the Department of Pharmaceuticals. The country accounts for nearly 20 per cent of global generic medicine exports by volume, as per the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance.
According to Mordor Intelligence, India’s CMO market is expected to reach ₹2.14 lakh crore in 2025, growing at nearly 15 per cent annually. Persistence Market Research projects the broader contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) market will rise from ₹1.83 lakh crore in 2024 to around ₹4.54 lakh crore by 2031, driven by increasing global demand for cost-effective, high-quality production.
Salil Kallianpur, pharma analyst, said: “Lilly is one of the top global innovators with blockbuster products such as Mounjaro (tirzepatide) for diabetes and obesity. Instead of building only its own facilities, it is choosing to anchor its production ecosystem in India using Indian CMOs, suppliers, and technology partners.”
He added, “The explosive global demand for GLP-1 drugs such as Mounjaro and Zepbound has created unprecedented manufacturing bottlenecks. With cost and capacity constraints in the US and EU, India provides an efficient, scalable alternative. Over recent years, India’s quality and compliance standards have improved, with world-class CMOs such as Divi’s Laboratories, Syngene, Piramal Pharma, Biocon Biologics, and Gland Pharma gaining global trust.”
“As the US and EU aim to reduce reliance on China for APIs and intermediates, India is emerging as the natural alternative,” Kallianpur said. “This investment deepens India’s role in the high-value global supply chain as Lilly transfers technology, quality systems, and digital manufacturing know-how to its Indian partners. It also spurs secondary growth for packaging, cold-chain logistics, engineering services, and raw-material suppliers.”
He added, “Lilly’s $1 billion isn’t just capital expenditure — it’s a vote of confidence in India’s ability to meet global quality and innovation expectations.”
Kallianpur said he is bullish on Divi’s Laboratories, which could become a key peptide CDMO if chosen for tirzepatide. Other companies likely to benefit include Syngene, Piramal Pharma, Biocon Biologics, Gland Pharma, and Laurus Labs, through biologics, fill-finish, or analytical testing.
Vishal Manchanda, Vice President, Institutional Research, Systematix, added: “The only viable options for innovators for high-volume APIs are India or China. Lilly’s choice of India reflects an internal strategic preference.”
Since 2020, Lilly has committed more than $55 billion globally to expand facilities for medicines treating diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. “We are making significant investments to increase manufacturing and medicine supply capacity around the world to help ensure patients have access to the medicines they need,” said Patrik Jonsson, Executive Vice President and President, Lilly International.
“This investment reaffirms our confidence in India as a hub for capability building within our global network,” he added.