India has witnessed a significant increase in pharmaceutical patent families, which have grown more than four times in the past decade. The country’s drug discovery pipeline now comprises over 1,095 programs spread across 195 companies, marking a shift towards innovation-driven research from generic manufacturing. A report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and HealthKois highlighted these developments, emphasizing the need for India to leverage its scientific talent, cost competitiveness, and data to establish a globally competitive life sciences innovation ecosystem.
The report revealed that India-origin pharmaceutical patent families surged to 2,995 in 2024 from 716 in 2015. Additionally, private equity and venture capital investments in the pharmaceutical sector doubled to $731 million in FY26. Over the same period, the number of biotech startups in India increased from nearly 1,500 to 2,400. The country’s share of global pharma patents has risen from 3–4% to approximately 10%, reflecting qualitative growth beyond just numbers.
Moreover, India has introduced more than 10 novel drug assets in the last ten years, showcasing a transition from generics and biosimilars to the development, licensing, and commercialization of innovative medicines for global markets. The report identified key drivers fueling this momentum, including substantial government funding for research, academia-industry collaborations, regulatory reforms reducing drug development timelines, and shared research and manufacturing infrastructure like Genome Valley and C-CAMP.
The report also highlighted successful cases such as BIRSA 101, India’s first CRISPR-based therapeutic, and NexCAR19, an indigenous CAR-T therapy priced significantly lower than similar treatments abroad. Industry experts emphasized the importance of capital support for early-stage innovative projects to sustain India’s innovation trajectory and transform it into a robust innovation engine. India’s potential lies in leveraging its cost advantage, scientific expertise, and diverse patient data to establish competitive global innovation platforms, rather than solely focusing on cutting-edge science.
