India's Drug Discovery and Development Industry: The Quest for Novel Therapeutic Treatments

A comprehensive review and analysis of drug discovery efforts at Indian companies between the mid-1990s and 2025 reveals 1095 ongoing (462) or past (633) projects and molecules under investigation at 195 major pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and start-up companies, of which 128 are currently actively pursuing research. They consist mainly of small molecules (811), followed by novel biologics (189) and gene therapies (95), and cover all stages from early discovery (618), preclinical (276), and clinical development phases (Phase 1: 98; Phase 2: 63; Phase 3: 19) up to approved drugs and treatments (21). Small molecules are dominated by new chemical entities (684), followed by prodrugs, salts, and formulations (56), repurposed drugs (53), and others (18). Biologics consist largely of monoclonal antibodies or fragments (92), antibody-drug conjugates (22), various (fusion) proteins (40), enzymes (10), and others (25). Gene therapies use gene silencing (24), gene transfer (21), genome editing (7), modulation of mRNA splicing (3), and genetically modified cells based on chimeric antigen receptor technology using T and NK cells (40). Tracking companies and projects over time illustrates the dynamics and increasing diversification of drug discovery activities in India.