CDMO to accelerate biotech timelines with end-to-end solution for complex small-molecules
Dharwad, 09 September 2026: 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.
Novel programmes are supported by fully separated R&D teams, while bespoke manufacturing blocks can be established for individual NCE customers as their products approach commercial supply.
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.
Over the next 12 months, the brand’s new complex-molecule focus will be introduced to global customers, with Shilpa CDMO targeting double-digit compound annual growth over the next several years.
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About Shilpa CDMO
Shilpa CDMO is the complex-molecule contract development and manufacturing brand of Shilpa Pharma Lifesciences Limited, part of Shilpa Medicare Ltd (NSE: SHILPAMED). Operating from a 34-acre, 100% export-oriented campus at Raichur, Karnataka, alongside a second API manufacturing site, Shilpa CDMO supports partners from route scouting and process development through analytical development to commercial drug-substance and finished-dose supply. Capabilities span HPAPIs and OEB-5 potent compounds, peptides, ADC payloads and linkers, PROTACs, oligonucleotides, PEGs and pharmaceutical polymers, backed by three R&D centres, more than 400 scientists and 230 kL of reactor capacity. Learn more at shilpapharma.com.
About Shilpa Biologicals
Shilpa Biologicals is the complex-biologics CDMO within the Shilpa group, providing antibody production, ADC conjugation and fill-finish from sites within 200 miles of Shilpa CDMO's small-molecule operations.
About Shilpa Medicare Ltd
Shilpa Medicare Ltd is a vertically integrated pharmaceutical company headquartered in Raichur, Karnataka, India, with more than 30 years of expertise across oncology APIs, high potency manufacturing, finished dosage forms, and biologics. Listed on NSE and BSE.
Meet Shilpa CDMO at CPHI Milan
CPHI Worldwide 2026, Fiera Milano, 6–8 October 2026. Stand 7B106. To arrange a meeting, contact info@shilpapharma.com or +91 96863 97127.
Media Contact
Nidhi Narain, Email: n.narain@defacto.co.uk
Business Development: info@shilpapharma.com | +91 96863 97127 | shilpapharma.com