RPG Life Sciences eyes GLP-1 entry, US market via plant acquisitions

The company sharpens its domestic specialty formulations focus and looks to scale APIs through acquisitions, while planning partnership-led GLP-1 launches

RPG Life Sciences is planning to enter India’s fast-emerging GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drug space, while keeping the US market on a medium-term acquisition-led radar, as it eyes ₹2500 crore turnover by 2030.

 

With a new managing director (MD) at the helm, the RPG Group arm is also doubling down on domestic branded formulations, sharpening its specialty focus, apart from building capacities in the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) space through acquisitions.

 

“We have created a strategic vision built around five pillars, with building big, scalable brands at the core,” said Ashok Nair, MD, RPG Life Sciences.

 

Nair, a pharma industry veteran having worked in Abbott, Cipla and Torrent Pharma, is consciously stepping away from crowded mass-market therapies to focus on super-specialty segments where clinical depth, complex prescribing behaviour and long treatment cycles support durable branding.

 

“The promoter vision is clear: To make RPG Life Sciences a flagship company of the group,” Nair told Business Standard.

 

The company posted ₹582.1 crore revenue in the financial year 2025 (FY25), up 13.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).

 

In the second quarter of FY26 (Q2FY26), RPG Life Sciences revenue from operations touched ₹181.7 crore, up 5.5 per cent.

 

Nephrology remains the company’s strongest pillar, supported by a growing monoclonal antibody (mAbs) portfolio. The same model, which has worked well in nephrology, is now being replicated in rheumatology and extended into clinical dermatology and gastroenterology, particularly transplant-linked therapies.

 

In cardiology, the focus is selectively on niche areas such as arrhythmias and tachycardia rather than mass hypertension or cholesterol therapies.

 

“Rather than mass cardiology, we are focusing on niche indications where specialist engagement matters,” Nair said.

 

This sharper segmentation has allowed RPG Life Sciences to grow faster than the overall domestic pharmaceutical market.

 

“The IPM grows at 7-9 per cent. We are growing at nearly twice that rate,” he added.

 

GLP-1: Partnership-led entry planned

 

One of the most closely watched elements of the company’s domestic strategy is its entry into the GLP-1 class of drugs, which are increasingly being prescribed for diabetes and obesity.

 

RPG Life Sciences plans to enter the market through partnerships, targeting launches aligned with post-patent opportunities.

 

“We are aiming to be part of the first wave of GLP-1 launches in India through partnerships,” Nair said, adding that even early entrants in this category are likely to adopt alliance-driven models rather than fully in-house development.

 

Not many players have peptide manufacturing capabilities in the country, and hence Nair felt that most launches would be through contract manufacturing partnerships. As for pricing, he felt that generic GLP-1 drugs would see a similar fate of 50-70 per cent slash from innovator drugs as the recent off-patent molecules witnessed.

 

Traded generics: Scale without dilution

 

While specialty therapies remain the core, the company is also selectively participating in traded generics -- a segment estimated at around ₹30,000 crore and growing faster than the overall Indian pharma market. Trade generics are drugs sold directly through distributors and cost lesser than branded medicines as there is no marketing expense incurred.

 

“Trade generics are not our primary focus, but it is a segment you cannot afford to ignore,” Nair said.

 

The company sees this segment as a way to build presence in Tier-II to Tier-VI cities and participate in government-backed healthcare programmes without diluting its specialty positioning. It plans to participate in tenders for the Centre’s Jan Aushadhi scheme too.

 

US market: Cautious, acquisition-led approach

 

RPG Life Sciences has so far stayed out of the US market, citing timing, pipeline readiness and cost considerations. However, Nair made it clear that the US remains a medium-term opportunity.

 

“We have stayed away from the US not because we can’t enter, but because one needs a strong pipeline for that,” Nair said. He noted that organic entry could take three to four years, but acquisitions of USFDA-approved facilities could accelerate market access.

 

The company plans to reassess its US strategy over the next two to three years rather than rush into a sub-scale presence.

 

Strategic acquisitions

 

Mergers and acquisitions form a key pillar of the company’s forward roadmap, with APIs emerging as the most immediate opportunity. Immuno-suppressants are a particular area of focus, where backward integration could improve cost efficiency and strengthen international competitiveness.

 

“API (manufacturing facility) acquisition is the most visible opportunity for us right now,” Nair said, adding that the company is evaluating assets.

 

RPG Life Sciences enters this phase with a clean balance sheet and steady investment plans. The company is debt-free and continues to invest around ₹40 crore annually in capex, increasingly directed towards digitisation and automation. The capex may go up in the coming years to ₹50-60 crore annually depending on expansion plans.

 

“Digitisation has already freed up more than 1,100 man-hours, allowing our teams to spend more time with doctors,” Nair said.