Shilpa CDMO*, a dedicated complex small-molecule contract development and manufacturing organisation will launch next month at CPHI Milan. The new brand, separate from parent company Shilpa Medicare, provides a specialist development and commercial manufacturing partner for biotech and pharma customers with complex small molecules, building on Shilpa’s more than 30 years of oncology expertise.
Keshav Bhutada, Chief Executive Officer of Shilpa CDMO, said: “We have long been known among our existing partners as incredibly capable, particularly for challenging molecules such as HPAPIs and peptides, and more recently ADC payloads and linkers, PROTACs and oligonucleotides.
However, with the growth and opportunity we are now seeing in the CDMO division, it became clear that we needed a much stronger and more distinct business that shows a broader range of innovators our extensive contract service capabilities for novel and complex molecules. Shilpa Pharma’s CDMO division will therefore now go to market as Shilpa CDMO and is dedicated to complex molecule development. Essentially, we love working on our partners’ most challenging projects.”
The launch comes as US and European biotechnology companies increasingly seek to diversify their development and manufacturing strategies beyond China. Yet while the global CDMO market contains hundreds of providers, the expertise and infrastructure required to advance genuinely complex molecules remain concentrated among a relatively small number of organisations – many of which have limited near-term availability, are China-centric or naturally prioritise their largest customers.
“Available capacity is not the same as capable capacity,” Yagnesh Solanki, Director – CDMO at Shilpa CDMO, said. “For a next-generation compound, the choice of CDMO can be the difference between a programme progressing successfully and encountering years of avoidable redevelopment, delay and additional cost.”
To meet this rising demand, Shilpa CDMO is continuing to invest in what is already one of India’s largest small-molecule development and manufacturing platforms. Its infrastructure includes 230 kL of reactor capacity, three R&D centres, more than 400 scientists and two dedicated API manufacturing sites.
In addition to significant commercial infrastructure, the new CDMO brings together dedicated R&D teams for HPAPIs and oncology, peptides, ADC payloads and linkers, oligonucleotides and PROTACs. Its integrated capabilities extend from discovery and route scouting through process and analytical development to commercial drug-substance and finished-dose manufacturing. This gives Shilpa CDMO one of the world’s most complete small-molecule platforms and will help US-based and European biotechnology partners advance more quickly through development.
To be unveiled at CPHI Milan 2026 (6–8 October, Fiera Milano) under the promise “Your complex molecules → medicines,” Shilpa CDMO brings together more than 30 years of chemistry, development and manufacturing experience to shape the future of medicines through scientific innovation, passion and purpose.
Uniquely among global CDMOs, Shilpa CDMO’s payload and linker chemistry sits within 200 miles of sister company Shilpa Biologicals, which provides antibody production, conjugation and fill-finish. For ADC and conjugate programmes, this removes intercontinental shipping of intermediates, shortens development timelines and materially simplifies the supply chain.
Commenting on the rising demand from new NCE partners, Dipak Kalita, Senior Vice President – CDMO Services at Shilpa CDMO, said: “What has often surprised new customers – and demonstrated why we need a clearer brand – is the breadth and depth of our capabilities beyond our established position in oncology. We are also investing heavily in PROTACs and peptides. When paired with our sister company, Shilpa Biologicals – a complex-biologics CDMO – we offer payload and linker chemistry, antibody production, conjugation and fill-finish, all from sites inside 200 miles of each other. This is near unique among global CDMOs and means development timelines are faster and supply chains much simpler.”
At CPHI Milan, Shilpa CDMO will also announce details of its new commercial-scale peptide manufacturing capabilities, further strengthening its ability to support complex peptide programmes from development through to commercial supply.
*Shilpa CDMO is the customer-facing brand of Shilpa Pharma Lifesciences Limited
