Backed by strong demand across its drug-device and biologics businesses, OneSource Speciality Pharma has raised its FY28 revenue guidance from $400 million to over $500 million, chief executive and managing director Neeraj Sharma told Mint in an interview. The company is also targeting an Ebitda margin of 40% from 28% reported in the September quarter.
The Bengaluru-based contract development and manufacturing organization's optimism largely stems from the expected surge in demand for semaglutide, known popularly by its brand name Ozempic, whose patents expire in key markets such as Canada, Brazil and India next year.
OneSource is fast-tracking a $100 million capacity expansion to tap into the global boom in weight-loss drugs, Sharma said. “And that's what we are prepared for… we are accelerating our capacity expansion by almost six to twelve months,” said Sharma. The company will scale up its drug-device capabilities and is set to complete it in 2026, a year before the earlier timeline.
For the September quarter, the company late Tuesday reported a 12% year-on-year rise in revenue to ₹375.8 crore and a 37% increase in Ebitda to ₹106.5 crore, while net profit came in at ₹44.9 crore against a loss of ₹6 crore a year earlier. In FY25, the company reported a revenue of ₹1,444.9 crore ($171 million).
Sharma said Strides Pharma's listed subsidiary, which develops drug-device combinations like GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) pens, has advanced its expansion timeline by up to a year to strengthen its position among the few global players offering end-to-end formulation and device assembly.
The firm has seen robust traction for its drug-device combination offering, as well as in other verticals such as biologics. In addition, the recent acquisitions are expected to drive growth in the next few years.
“In the short to medium term, the biggest opportunity is indeed in drug-device combinations,” said Sharma.
GLP-1s, a class of weight-loss drugs which includes semaglutide, are popularly used as pen-filled devices. OneSource is one of the few players globally that has end-to-end capabilities, including formulation and assembly into the device.
Sharma said the company is prepared for the market boom, in terms of manufacturing as well as regulatory approvals for its facilities. “But this depends a lot on our customers getting approval for the generic drug,” he said. Several top generic players have filed for regulatory approvals in various markets, including Canada, Brazil and India.
“Semaglutide is here to stay. Other large markets will start opening [for generics] soon. Europe starts opening in 2028 and then the US opens in 2032. So I see GLP-1s as near term as well as medium to long term opportunities,” Sharma said.
Biologics growth
Biologics is another long-term focus area for the company. “In the last six months, we have really boosted the funnel of our biologics business, this is thanks to a very strong customer outreach done by our team, as well as some tailwinds,” said Sharma.
The recently-revived US Biosecure Act, which has been passed in the US Senate, bars pharma and biotech players from working with select Chinese companies, is expected to drive more business towards Indian CDMOs.
“We are right there with the manufacturing capability and compliance track record,” said Sharma.
The US Food and Drug Administration’s recent draft guidelines to ease biosimilar development and shrink timelines is a strong tailwind, said Sharma. “This would also bring the cost of development of biosimilars. And that would mean that competitive and agile CDMOs like OneSource have a really strong position to attract these biosimilar players,” he said.
The company has seen a 4x increase in its biologics funnel, which includes novel modalities, early phase biologics, biosimilars, this quarter as compared to FY25.
OneSource is also expanding its base business of soft gelatin capsules and injectables. The company recently announced the acquisition of a Poland-based multi-dose fill-finish site, for injectables, and an integrated carbapenem (antibiotic) facility in India.
“The core injectables business you know gets scaled up with significant new capacity which will come from these businesses, and this immediately gives us a footprint in Europe, where we can offer solutions to European as well as US customers,” said Sharma.
OneSource was listed on 24 January, 2025, and since listing, its share price has risen 2.3% to ₹1,750 on the National Stock Exchange. The Nifty Pharma index is down 3.7% since January.