Complex-molecule specialist Shilpa CDMO launches at CPHI Milan

Shilpa CDMO (customer-facing brand of Shilpa Pharma Lifesciences), a dedicated complex small-molecule contract development and manufacturing organisation will launch next month at CPHI Milan 2026 (6–8 October, Fiera Milano). 

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.

To meet the 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.