Drug formulations & biologicals keep India's pharma exports healthy in Q1

India's pharmaceutical exports grew 6.8% to $8.10 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 from $7.58 billion a year earlier, show data from the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil).

Drug formulations and biologicals remained the backbone of India's pharmaceutical exports, contributing $5.98 billion, or nearly three-fourths, to the total shipments.

The growth indicates the continued strength of India's pharmaceutical exports in the global market, Pharmexcil chairman Namit Joshi said. "The performance reflected India's ability to combine scale in established markets with growing momentum across newer geographies," he said, adding that the country must now build a stronger presence in complex generics, biosimilars and peptides to drive the next phase of growth.


Read more - Govt tightens drug quality net, initiates 950 actions since 2022: Over 1,100 cough syrup makers are also facing intensive audits amid quality concerns

The momentum strengthened in June with shipments of $2.81 billion, 7.1% higher than a year earlier and about 6.9% more than May.

According to the data, exports of drug formulations and biologicals grew more than 4.1% from the same quarter last fiscal year. Bulk drugs and drug intermediates, the second-largest category, rose over 13.8% to $1.36 billion.

The standout performer was vaccines, growing about 35.7% to $390 million. Surgical products also posted healthy growth of nearly 12% to $210 million.

Read more - Kia plans India plant expansion as sales surge; aims 410,000 units by 2030

"The strong growth in vaccines and bulk drugs is evidence of India's deepening capabilities across the pharmaceutical value chain," Pharmexcil vice chairman Bhavin Mehta said.

According to the data, North America, Europe, Africa and Latin America together accounted for nearly 75% of India's total pharmaceutical exports during the quarter. The US remained the single largest destination, contributing 34.3% to the total with shipments worth $2.50 billion.

Brazil, the UK, the Netherlands and France followed the US in country-wise rankings. The top 25 export destinations together accounted for nearly 70% of the total exports, of $5.65 billion, growing 5.5% from a year earlier.