Obesity treatment medicines, particularly GLP-1-based therapies, are set to emerge as a major growth engine for India’s pharmaceutical industry over the next few years, according to Sun Pharma Managing Director Kirti Ganorkar. He noted that wider access to these “new age” drugs for obesity and diabetes will be central to both easing the growing lifestyle disease burden and driving sectoral expansion.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, originally developed for type 2 diabetes, are increasingly being used for treating obesity and related cardiometabolic conditions by regulating insulin production and appetite. India, traditionally known as a global hub for generics, is now rapidly positioning itself as a key player in the global weight management market as obesity-linked diseases rise sharply.
Ganorkar stressed that improving access to GLP-1 treatments in the coming years will be “a key driver” for the domestic pharma industry. Coupled with AI-enabled digital tools for early detection, continuous monitoring, and personalised therapy choices, he said these advances can significantly improve accessibility, affordability, and patient outcomes in chronic disease care.
Innovation is expected to be the defining theme for the sector’s next growth phase, industry leaders said. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Chairman Satish Reddy highlighted that easing access to risk capital will be critical if India is to move from being the “pharmacy of the world” to becoming a true global hub for pharmaceutical innovation. As India heads towards 2026, he added, the sector’s outlook remains positive, underpinned by a strong focus on scientific excellence, regulatory agility and collaborative innovation.
Reddy also underlined the strategic role of pharma in achieving the national vision of “Viksit Bharat”, aligning it with the industry’s own ambition of growing into a 500 billion dollar sector by 2047. Recent government initiatives such as the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme and the PRIP scheme for strengthening R&D and novel drug delivery platforms are seen as important steps in deepening industry–academia partnerships and accelerating innovation.
Despite global headwinds, Indian pharma has remained resilient, continuing to deliver life-saving medicines worldwide while investing in next-generation therapies. Rating agency ICRA expects revenues of its sample set of Indian pharmaceutical companies to grow by 9–11 per cent in FY26, supported by 8–10 per cent growth in the domestic market and 15–17 per cent in Europe, though US growth may moderate to 4–6 per cent due to pricing pressure on key molecules such as Lenalidomide.
On the healthcare delivery side, Aster DM Healthcare Founder and Chairman Azad Moopen said the challenge now is to convert scale and capital into better health outcomes. He emphasised the need for faster regulatory clearances, stronger focus on tier-2 and tier-3 infrastructure, sustained skilling of the healthcare workforce, and deeper public–private collaboration. Addressing talent gaps while enabling innovation, he said, will be essential to keep quality healthcare accessible, affordable and sustainable for Indian families.
