4 Pharma CDMO Stocks with Solid Expansion Plans

#1 Sai Life Sciences

The first pharma CDMO stock in India with solid expansion plans is Sai Life Sciences Ltd.

The company was incorporated in 1999, and since then it has been engaged in contract research, development, and manufacturing (CRDMO) and other activities in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space.

The company offers services from early drug discoveries to commercial manufacturing.

Global regulatory agencies such as the US FDA and PMDA have accredited the company and its manufacturing facilities and drug-making processes.

During FY26, the company invested over Rs 6.33 bn in capex, against a pre-decided budget of Rs 7 bn, 62% of which was invested into the CDMO business segment, and the remaining 38% was invested into the Contract research organisation (CRO) segment.

For FY27, the company committed a capex investment within the range of Rs 11-13 bn, of which 70% will be for the CDMO segment and the rest for the CRO segment.

The company also indicated that out of the total capex for FY27, 75% of the same will be used for capacity expansion projects, and the remaining will be invested into capabilities development, and into AI and advanced technologies for making Sai aligned with the future.

The company is coming up with its second manufacturing site near Hyderabad, besides its Bidar facility. This manufacturing facility is expected to double the capacity of the company.

Currently, the manufacturing capacity of the company includes 700 kilolitre (KL) capacity with manufacturing blocks, 80 production trains, 0.25-12 KL reactor sizes, and more.

It has a CDMO pipeline with four new molecules to make the total count to 34.

Apart from these four, 11 molecules are in phase III of the development process or in the pre-registration queue, and then there are 155 more which are currently at their early development stages.

The management is expecting these four new molecules to start generating revenue in FY27 and at least in the coming few quarters.

Coming to the financials, revenue from operations stood at Rs 21,920 million (m) in FY26, up from Rs 16,950 m in FY25.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew from Rs 4,250 m to Rs 6,610 m during the period, along with EBITDA margin increasing from 25% to 30%.

Having said that, profit after tax (PAT) almost doubled in FY26, to Rs 3,490 m, compared to Rs 1,700 m in FY25.

Sai Life has a 3-year compound sales growth of 24.9%, with a 3-year compounded profit growth of 201.2%.

The average return on equity (ROE) was at 5.9%, while the average return on capital employed (ROCE) stood at 12.9% for the past three years.

For more details, see the SAI LIFE SCIENCES company fact sheet and quarterly results.

#2 Jubilant Pharmova

The next pharma CDMO stock with robust expansion plans is Jubilant Pharmova Ltd.

This company operates across pharmaceuticals, CDMO, and proprietary novel drugs segments. Under CDMO, it manufactures sterile injectables and non-sterile products. Jubilant is one of the leading contract manufacturers of sterile injectables globally.

Under its CRDMO segment, the company offers drug discovery services, API manufacturing and sales, and other products globally.

Jubilant is executing one of its largest expansion cycles, spread across radiopharmaceuticals, CDMO sterile injectables, drug discovery, PET manufacturing, and API CDMO. Their CDMO pipeline as of May 2026 had 10-plus products, with three new ones.

During FY26, the company invested around Rs 16.7 bn in capex, and for FY27, they are projecting the capex to be around a similar level.

Some of the significant projects executed or under construction include Spokane Line 4, which is a CDMO facility, for which US$ 200 m (Rs 19.2 bn) has been spent till May with US$ 34 m of capex remaining.

Meanwhile, management stated that commercial production is to begin from Spokane Line 3 in this fiscal and projected a peak annual revenue of US$ 80-90 m from the Line 3 alone.

For the Montreal Isolator Line 5, US$ 27 m has been spent with another US$ 87 m in the pipeline. For PET Pharmacies, it had spent around US$ 22 m with US$ 50 m in the pipeline.

Another major factor which would determine the growth of the company is its shift towards biologics. Jubilant is projecting its future product mix to have 80% of biologics and 20% of small molecules, well in sync with India's Biopharma Shakti Initiative.

On the financial front, the company generated revenue of Rs 82,800 m during FY26, a 14% YoY rise from Rs 72,350 m in FY25.

EBITDA grew by 8% YoY from Rs 12,300 m in FY25 to Rs 13,260 m in FY26. However, EBITDA margin for the period was down by 99 basis points from 16.9% to 15.9%.

PAT grew by 7% as well from Rs 4,150 m to Rs 4,420 m during the period.

During the past three years, the company delivered a compound sales growth of 5.7%, but its compound profit growth for the period stood at 26.5%.

Three-year average ROE and ROCE were 4.9% and 7.4%, respectively.

For more details, see the JUBILANT PHARMOVA company fact sheet and quarterly results.

#3 Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals

The third Indian CDMO company on our list with an expansion plan is Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals.

The company was started in 2004 as a CDMO offering pharmaceutical solutions from formulation to manufacturing and testing of different pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, ayurvedic, wellness, and other related products.

Akums has received one of its largest long-term contracts in the CDMO space ever, strengthening revenue visibility of the company for at least the next five years.

It's a multi-year €200 m (Rs 19 bn) European CDMO contract. Product development was completed in the first half of FY26. The EU-GMP-approved plant 2 for production of the same in Q3FY26. Commercial supplies of the product are projected to begin from FY28.

This contract is beyond the CDMO segment, as with this contract, the company is accelerating its global presence. Apart from Europe, the company is now looking to increase its presence across Southeast Asia and Africa as well.

Another major expansion project is its Zambia manufacturing facility. It would be one of the company's first major overseas manufacturing units. It's a joint venture with the government of Zambia with a total projected cost of around US$ 45 m.

The company has also started a new injectable capacity, while oncology and steroid manufacturing lines are scheduled to go live in FY27, supporting higher CDMO volumes.

The total capex investment stood at Rs 2.2 bn in FY26, and for FY27, the company has projected the same to be around Rs 3 bn. The company expects the CDMO business segment to offer double-digit volume growth in Q1 and Q2 of FY27.

Coming to the financials, the revenue grew 7.6% YoY to Rs 44.9 bn, out of which 80% was contributed by the CDMO segment.

EBITDA grew to Rs 6.51 bn, up 26.9% YoY, while the EBITDA margin grew to 14.5%.

However, PAT stood at Rs 2.56 bn, declining 25.4% compared to the previous fiscal.

The long-term performance indicates 3-year compound sales growth to be around 6.1%, while 3-year compound sales growth was 37.9%.

Average ROE and ROCE for the past three years were 6.4% and 9.2%.

For more details, see the AKUMS DRUGS & PHARMACEUTICALS company fact sheet and quarterly results.

#4 Laurus Labs

The final stock in this list of pharma CDMO expansion is Laurus Labs Ltd.

This research-driven pharmaceutical and biotechnology company was started in 2005 and is engaged in the manufacturing of APIs, especially oncology drugs, anti-retrovirals, high potent APIs and other therapeutics.

Laurus has been continuously increasing its CDMO business share. During Q4FY26, CDMO contributed to 33% of the revenue for the quarter, including a 4% rise over last year's share.

Coming to the expansion plans of the company, Laurus has been executing a growth capex of Rs 30 bn, one of the highest within the industry.

There are 11 projects which are currently underway - seven API projects, two finished dosage form projects, one fermentation project and one Gene Therapy/ADC project.

In FY26, the company invested Rs 10.7 bn in capex, which was around 16% of the revenue.

The company has been allotted a 532-acre land parcel in Vizag for expanding multi-site manufacturing capacity, with a planned investment of over US$ 600 m.

Coming to the financials, revenue for FY26 stood at Rs 68.1 bn, compared to Rs 55.5 bn in FY25, logging 23% YoY growth.

EBITDA grew 64% YoY from Rs 11.2 bn to Rs 18.3 bn during the period. However, the EBITDA includes a one-time gain of Rs 590 m related to the sale of a land parcel in FY25, translating to Rs 0.9 EPS boost (net of tax). EBITDA margin surged from 20.1% to 26.8%.

PAT jumped by 148% from Rs 3.58 bn to Rs 8.89 bn.

In the past three years, the sales compounded at 4.1%, while profit compounded at 3.8%.

Average ROE and ROCE for the past three years were 9.7% and 15.1%, respectively.

For more details, see the LAURUS LABS company fact sheet and quarterly results.

Capex & Expansion Plans of Leading Indian Pharma CDMOs

Conclusion

Indian pharma CDMOs are investing aggressively in new facilities, advanced technologies and high-value manufacturing capabilities as global pharma demands are on the rise, and global pharma giants are looking beyond China.

Sai Life Sciences, Jubilant Pharmova, Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals and Laurus Labs are all executing sizeable expansion plans that could strengthen their competitive positioning and support long-term growth.

Having said that, execution, regulatory approvals, and customer ramp-up remain key factors to determine the actual growth of these companies.

Investors should evaluate the company's fundamentals, corporate governance, and valuations of the stock as key factors when conducting due diligence before making investment decisions.

Happy investing.

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