Pharma Companies in Hyderabad: an overview
Hyderabad's drug industry rests on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), the bulk drugs that go into finished medicines. Telangana's life sciences department puts the state's share of India's API output at about 40 per cent and counts more than 2,000 life sciences companies. Several of the city's largest firms grew out of API making: Dr. Reddy's opened its first API plant at Bollaram in 1985, and Divi's Laboratories, founded in 1990, is still mainly an API and custom-synthesis business.
Genome Valley, on the northern edge of the city around Shameerpet and Turkapally, is the main cluster for biotech and R&D. The state describes it as India's first organised life sciences R&D and manufacturing cluster, with more than 2.5 million sq ft of laboratory space and about 20,000 scientific and technical staff. Bharat Biotech was the first company to set up in the park, in 1996. Its 200-acre IKP Knowledge Park now holds sites for Sai Life Sciences and Laurus Labs.
Vaccines are a second pillar. The state government credits Telangana with about a third of global vaccine output, and Bharat Biotech, Biological E and Indian Immunologicals all make vaccines in or near the city. Around the manufacturers sits a large group of contract research, development and testing firms, including Aragen, Sai Life Sciences and Vimta Labs. The state is also building Green Pharma City, about 25 km from the airport, which the Government of India has recognised as a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone.