Cipla to exclusively market and distribute five Pfizer brands in India

Cipla will exclusively market five Pfizer brands in India, adding ₹400-430 crore of established acute therapies to its portfolio without manufacturing risk

Cipla on Friday announced a partnership with Pfizer under which it will exclusively market and distribute five select Pfizer brands in India, strengthening its presence across key therapy segments and expanding access to widely prescribed medicines.

 

Under the agreement, Cipla will have sole rights to market and sell the cough syrups Corex DX and Corex LS, the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug Dolonex, the proton pump inhibitor Nexium, and the oral antibiotic Dalacin C in the Indian market. Pfizer will continue to manufacture, source and supply these products for India. The size of these brands is estimated to be around Rs 400-430 crore, according to industry sources.

 

“This partnership reflects our continued focus on expanding the reach of our medicines for patients in India,” said Meenakshi Nevatia, country president, Pfizer India. She added that Cipla’s extensive distribution network, combined with Pfizer’s legacy of quality and innovation, would help improve access to trusted therapies across the country.

 

Achin Gupta, global chief operating officer, Cipla, said the collaboration aligns with Cipla’s strategy of strengthening its portfolio through meaningful partnerships. “Our distribution capabilities will support wider reach for these established brands,” he said.

 

Industry experts believe that, from Cipla’s perspective, the partnership allows it to add established, high-prescription brands to its India portfolio without manufacturing risk, strengthening its presence across respiratory, pain management, gastroenterology and anti-infective therapies while leveraging its large domestic field force and distribution network to drive incremental growth. The arrangement also improves portfolio depth in acute therapies, complementing its chronic and respiratory franchises.

 

For Pfizer, the collaboration helps significantly expand the reach and availability of its brands by tapping into Cipla’s scale and last-mile distribution. By retaining manufacturing and supply while outsourcing marketing and distribution, Pfizer can optimise costs, improve market penetration and focus on its broader innovation-led strategy, while ensuring continued patient access to its legacy brands in a highly competitive market. 

Analysts believe this deal follows a familiar pharma playbook. "We’ve seen MNCs like Sanofi in diabetes and GSK in respiratory increasingly rely on local partners to monetise mature brands while retaining upstream control. Pfizer retaining manufacturing and outsourcing selling to Cipla fits that pattern. For Cipla, it is a capital-light, execution-ready addition that can be margin-accretive. For Pfizer, it converts established brands into annuity-like cash flows. Strategically, it highlights how Indian companies are becoming the commercial engines for legacy MNC portfolios," said Nirali Shah, Pharma Analyst of Ashika Group.