Pharma shares in focus; GSK, Jubilant, Eris, Gland, Torrent rally up to 8%

Nifty Pharma stocks, including GSK, Jubilant Pharmova, Eris Life, Gland Pharma and Torrent Pharma, saw gains up to 8% as investors responded positively to strong Q4 results and favourable FY26 outlook

Shares of pharmaceutical companies were in demand, and rallied up to 8 per cent on the bourses in Wednesday’s intra-day trade on healthy growth outlook. In-line March quarter performance, coupled with Torrent Pharma and Gland Pharma’s optimistic FY26 guidance led the up move in pharma stocks.

 

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (GSK Pharma), Ajanta Pharma, Gland Pharma, Jubilant Pharmova, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Natco Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, Lupin, Ipca Labs, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Cipla, Divi’s Laboratories, Granules India and Sun Pharmaceutical were up in the range of 2 per cent to 8 per cent in intra-day trade.

 

At 09:52 AM; the Nifty Pharma, the top gainer among sectoral indices, was up 1.6 per cent, as compared to 0.56 per cent rise in the Nifty 50. The pharma index rallied 2.3 per cent in intra-day trade today.  Follow Stock Market Latest Updates Today LIVE 

 

The Indian pharmaceutical market (IPM) reported growth of 7.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in April 2025 on a base of 9.5 per cent YoY growth in April 2024. IPM growth in Moving Annual Turnover (MAT) April 2025 stood at 7.9 per cent YoY versus 7.3 per cent YoY growth in MAT April 2024, with volumes contributing 130 bps, much higher than the nil contribution in MAT April 2024.

 

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), part of the Fitch Group, said the continued revenue growth was driven by companies' price hikes, with volume growing 1.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY). 

 

“India Ratings expects IPM to grow 7-8 per cent YoY during the financial year 2025-26 (FY26) with sustained growth momentum in the chronic therapies, led by price increases and product launches”, said Nishith Sanghvi, director, corporate ratings, India Ratings.

 

Kotak Institutional Equities highlights that, although pricing contributed to the bulk of the growth, volume traction in the end-market still remains sluggish. However, the brokerage firm expects a slightly stronger acute season along with pricing, acquisitions and in-licensing deals to drive 10 per cent-23 per cent YoY growth in FY2026E domestic sales for its coverage.   ALSO READ | Biocon shares gain 2% as Japan partner launches Ustekinumab biosimilar

 

Meanwhile, Ind-Ra opines the executive order to reduce the prices of prescription drugs in the US, once implemented, will have limited near-term impact on the Indian pharma companies, but it may have a bearing on their long-term capital allocation strategies. 

 

According to media reports, on 12 May 2025, the US President declared that he would be signing an executive order that would reduce the prices of prescription drug and pharmaceutical products’ prices by 30 per cent to 80 per cent. Additionally, the executive order would establish a Most Favoured Nation Policy whereby the US would pay the same price as the country that pays the lowest price anywhere in the world.

 

Jubilant Pharmova said the large innovator pharma companies, for their US requirements, are now looking to create an alternate manufacturing site in the US as a risk management measure in the event of tariff imposed by the US government. Therefore, the company is starting to see excellent traction in the Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) Sterile Injectable business for new lines in the Spokane facility. The company expects to reach peak utilisation for Line 3 in 3 years from start of commercial production vs 4 years, expected earlier.  ALSO READ | Gland Pharma stock volatile after announcing Q4 results, dividend; Details 

Among individual stocks, GSK Pharma soared 8 per cent to ₹ 3,012.20 in intra-day trade. The management said the company remains committed to delivering sustained above-market growth and strong shareholder returns. In FY2025-26, GSK Pharma will continue to focus on its innovative portfolio through the launch of oncology assets. The company said it is on track to launch Zejula (Niraparib), a PARP inhibitor for ovarian cancer and Jemperli (Dostarlimab), an immunotherapy approved for the second-line treatment of endometrial cancer.

 

In January to March 2025 quarter (Q4FY25), Torrent Pharma’s domestic business continued to post strong double-digit growth despite the slowdown in the overall market. Growth in the US business has started to show signs of a pickup.

 

Meanwhile, the management of Gland Pharma named a few additional growth drivers for the medium term. These include complex injectables for the US market, biosimilar CDMO business in India and GLP-1 CDMO in Cenexi. The company has already entered into agreements with Dr Reddy’s Labs in India and another pharma company in China for biosimilar CDMO.