India is the largest provider of generic medications and responsible for more than half the global vaccine supply. And the pharmaceutical industry here isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon, either — the country aims to expand the industry to $130 billion by 2030. From multinational corporations to innovative upstarts, these Chennai-based companies fuel India’s booming pharmaceutical sector.
Top Pharma Companies in Chennai
- Pfizer
- Systopic Labs
- AbbVie
- Eucare Pharmaceuticals
- AstraZeneca
- IQVIA
- Biocon
- Roche
20 Top Pharma Companies in Chennai
Pfizer develops medical treatments across a wide range of areas, from oncology to neurology. In addition to popular drugs like Viagra, Advil and Zoloft, the company is well known for making the first FDA-authorized Covid-19 vaccine, which was developed in partnership with German biotech company BioNTech. While its global headquarters is in New York, Pfizer has several facilities throughout India — including in Chennai, where it operates a research and development center dedicated to small molecules and the commercial manufacturing of parenteral products.
Systopic manufactures pharmaceuticals across segments like dermatology, gynecology orthopedics, cardiology and gastroenterology. It also makes antihistamines to help treat allergies, and various pre- and post-op drugs for people undergoing surgery. The company’s headquarters is in New Delhi, but it has several other offices throughout India, including in Chennai, Bangalore and Pune.
IQVIA provides biopharmaceutical development, consulting and other services to life-sciences organizations. The American company has a large presence in India, where its more than 20,000 employees provide technological support in areas ranging from pharmaceutical clinical trials to public health campaigns. IQVIA’s regional headquarters is in Mumbai, and it has offices in cities like Bangalore, Kolkata, Gurugram and Chennai
Solara Active Pharma Sciences makes active pharmaceutical ingredients that cover a wide range of therapeutic treatments, from injectables to polymer-based components. The company runs its research and innovation center out of Chennai, supplying medicine to patients in more than 75 countries.
Navitas Life Sciences is a clinical research company that provides regulatory and compliance, data science and other tech services to large and medium-sized biopharmaceutical companies all over the world. Its flagship products include document management platform pharmaReady and data management platform traceReady. The company’s headquarters is in New Jersey but the majority of its headcount is in India, where it has offices in Bangalore and Chennai.
LifeCell International is a Chennai-based biotech company developing one of the largest step cell and tissue storage banks in India. Combining modern cellular science with traditional Ayurvedic practices, the company provides genetic screening tests and access to its stem cell registry, as well as a line of personal care products, including female fertility hormone tests, sperm collection kits and human placental-based dressings for wound care.
Thermo Fisher Scientific is a life-science and clinical-research company that provides a variety of technology and services across the laboratory, pharmaceutical and biotechnology spaces. Its vast array of offerings include tools to aid in the research and development of vaccines and immunotherapies, medical instruments and machine-learning-powered drug-discovery tools. Outside of its headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, the company has offices all over the world, including in several Indian cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
Sanofi is one of the largest producers of vaccines in the world, renowned for delivering the first injectable vaccines for polio, influenza, meningitis and rabies. It now also develops treatments across areas like oncology, multiple sclerosis, rare blood disorders and diabetes. Headquartered in Paris, the company operates in more than 90 countries, including India, where it has offices in major cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
Founded in 1984, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories was one of India’s first global manufacturers of pharmaceuticals. Today, it distributes active pharmaceutical ingredients, branded generics, biosimilars and over-the-counter drugs to more than half a billion people around the world, with a particular focus on cardiovascular, gastroenterology, diabetology, oncology, dermatology and pain management. The company is headquartered in Hyderabad, and has several offices and manufacturing facilities throughout India, including in Chennai.
With a mission to treat cancer, diabetes and autoimmune diseases, Biocon provides novel biologics, generic active pharmaceutical ingredients, biosimilars and research services to organizations across more than 120 countries. The Bangalore-based company has a research and development center in Chennai, along with several manufacturing facilities throughout India.
XCode Life is a genomics company that provides comprehensive analyses from raw genetic data, with a focus on preventative healthcare. Using results from all major ancestry and health genetic companies, the platform generates various personalized health reports, reviewing everything from diet and fitness to drug sensitivities and cancer risks. XCode Life’s headquarters is in San Francisco, but the majority of its employees are based in Chennai.
Zifo provides several scientific informatics services to industries ranging from pharmaceutical and biotech to food and agriculture. These services include product development and design, bioinformatics consulting, clinical trial support, and business analytics. With offices all over the world, the company’s India headquarters is in Chennai, where the majority of its employees work.
Eucare Pharmaceuticals is a Chennai-based biopharmaceutical company that develops collagen-based tech and drug delivery systems. Its products include treatments for burns, wounds and scars, as well as nanotech-enabled dental products that promote tissue and bone regeneration.
AstraZeneca is a multinational pharma company that develops treatments for a variety of major diseases, with a particular focus on oncology, immunology, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. The UK-based company has been operating in India since 1979, where its thousands of employees handle local manufacturing, marketing and sales tasks. In addition to its regional headquarters in Bangalore, AstraZeneca has a Global Technology Center in Chennai.
Alcon is a pharmaceutical and medical-device company that specializes in eye-care products. Originally a subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Novartis, the company spun out on its own in 2019. Now it has several of its own subsidiaries, including Aerie Pharmaceuticals, which focuses on therapies for glaucoma and other eye diseases, and WaveLight, which develops technology for laser eye surgery. Although the company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, a large portion of its headcount is located in India, with offices in Bangalore and Chennai.
Roche is a prominent drugmaker in cancer treatment, with dozens of medicines recognized by the World Health Organization as essential medicines. The Swiss company provides both pharmaceutical and diagnostic solutions for everything from severe acne to depression, in addition to its various oncology products. Roche operates a Global Analytics and Technology Center of Excellence out of Chennai, where it provides analytics, business intelligence, data management and technology solutions to many of its global affiliates.
A spinoff of medical-device giant Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, with products treating about 50 million people every year, according to its website. AbbVie’s primary product is a prescription medicine called Humira, which is used to treat inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and plaque psoriasis. It is also known for making the antidepressant drugs Lexapro and Celexa, Loestrin birth control pills and the pain reliever Norco. The Chicago-based company has several subsidiaries in India, with offices in Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and elsewhere.
Cryoviva Biotech specializes in umbilical-cord-blood stem cell processing and storage, with services that include cryopreservation, bone marrow processing and cell culture expansion. Cryoviva was founded in Gurugram in 2006, and has since expanded its services to Thailand, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Vietnam and East Africa — making it the only Indian cord blood bank available in the international market, according to its website. The company also has hundreds of offices throughout India, including in Chennai.
Chennai-based Amura offers an online clinic where users can receive natural molecule therapies to reduce or even reverse chronic conditions like acne, acid reflux, type-2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome and asthma. According to the company, users are provided with an in-depth lab assessment, undergo an medical interview and are then given an AI-assisted diagnosis and designated diet and nutrition protocol to follow. All of their progress is monitored by a team of medical doctors and health coaches through the Amura app.
The Madras Pharmaceuticals specializes in pharmaceutical formulation manufacturing, product development and the production of a variety of medicines. The company is based in Chennai and has seven manufacturing facilities throughout India, all of which are equipped to manufacture formulations in a wide range of dosages, including tablets, hard and soft gelatin capsules, liquid syrups, injectables, nutraceuticals, dermatological and hormonal products. In addition to India, Madras Pharma ships its products to dozens of countries around the world.
