# Sun Pharma

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (d/b/a Sun Pharma) is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai, that manufactures and sells pharmaceutical formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in more than 100 countries across the globe. It is the largest pharmaceutical company in India and the fourth largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company in the world. The products cater to a vast range of therapeutic segments covering psychiatry, anti-infectives, neurology, cardiology, diabetology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, nephrology, urology, dermatology, gynaecology, respiratory, oncology, dental and nutritionals.

## History

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. was established by Dilip Shanghvi in 1983 in Calcutta, West Bengal with five psychiatry products and a two-person marketing team. Today it is ranked number one in share of prescriptions with 12 classes of doctors in India and a market leader in Psychiatry, Neurology, Cardiology, Orthopaedics, Gastroenterology, Nephrology, Diabetology, Dermatology, Urology, ENT, Chest and Consulting Physicians.
The 2015 acquisition of Ranbaxy made Sun Pharma the largest pharma company in India, the largest Indian pharma company in the US, and the 5th largest specialty generic company globally.
Around 70% of Sun Pharma’s revenue is generated from international markets. The US and India are the largest markets, accounting for over 60% of the company's turnover. Manufacturing is across 43 global locations in India, the US, Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe. In the United States, the company markets a large basket of generics, with a strong pipeline awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Sun Pharma was listed on the stock exchange in 1994 in an issue that was oversubscribed 55 times. The founding family continues to hold a majority stake in the company.

## Acquisitions and joint ventures

Sun Pharma has complemented growth with select acquisitions over the last two decades. In 1995, Sun purchased a bulk drug manufacturing plant at Ahmednagar from Knoll Pharmaceuticals and in 1997 acquired MJ Pharma's dosage plant at Halol. In 1997, Sun Pharma acquired Tamil Nadu Dadha Pharmaceuticals Limited (TDPL) based in Chennai. Also in 1997, Sun Pharma initiated their first foray into the international market with the acquisition of Caraco Pharmaceuticals in North America.
In 1998, Sun acquired a number of respiratory brands from Natco Pharma. Other notable acquisitions include Milmet Labs and Cephalexin and 7ADCA actives manufacturing site (1999) Pradeep Drug Company (2000), Phlox Pharma (2004), a formulation plant at Bryan, Ohio and ICN, Hungary from Valeant Pharma and Able Labs (2005), and Chattem Chemicals (2008).
In 2010, the company acquired a controlling stake in Taro Pharmaceuticals, amongst the largest generic dermatology companies in the US, with operations across Canada and Israel.
In 2012, Sun announced acquisitions of two US companies: DUSA Pharmaceuticals, a dermatology device company; and generic pharma company URL Pharma
In 2014, Sun Pharma entered into a licensing agreement with Merck & Co. Inc. to acquire rights for Tildrakizumab (MK- 3222) for treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis, in order to further strengthen its specialty product pipeline.
To access sterile injectable capacity in the US, it acquired Pharmalucence in the US in the same year.
In 2015, Sun Pharma acquired Ranbaxy in a US$ 4 billion landmark transaction to become the world's 5th largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company.
In March 2015, Sun Pharma announced it had agreed to buy GlaxoSmithKline's opiates business in Australia to strengthen its pain management portfolio.
The following year Sun Pharma made some significant acquisitions, including 14 prescription brands from Novartis in Japan to enter the Japanese market.
It acquired Ocular Technologies, Sarl to strengthen its branded ophthalmic portfolio and also acquired Biosintez to enhance its presence in the Russian market.
From 2016 to 2018, Sun Pharma launched some of its new products in the USA. It launched its first branded ophthalmic product, BromSite in 2016. In 2017, the company launched its specialty product Odomzo and then in 2018 another specialty product Ilumya (tildrakizumab-asmn) was launched to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.
In 2019, Sun Pharma acquired Pola Pharma in Japan to strengthen its global dermatology presence. The company entered the Greater China market by partnering with China Medical System Holdings as well as launched a speciality product, CEQUAa, in the United States for the treatment of dry eyes.
In 2023, Sun Pharma acquired Concert Pharmaceuticals, a late-stage biotechnology company in USA, a 60% stake in animal healthcare company - Vivaldis Animal Health and Foods Pvt ltd. from its existing shareholders for Rs 143.30 crore.
In September 2023, Sun Pharma went into a licensing agreement with Pharmazz Inc.
In January 2024, Sun Pharma entered into a definitive merger with Taro Pharmaceuticals to acquire the remaining stake in Taro Pharma for $347.73 Million. Taro Pharma, the U.S.-based unit of India’s leading drugmaker Sun Pharma Ltd, has unveiled a merger agreement with its parent company. Under this agreement, Sun Pharma, the controlling shareholder of Taro, will acquire all outstanding shares of its subsidiary.
In March 2025, it was announced Sun Pharma had acquired the Waltham, Massachusetts headquartered immunotherapy and targeted oncology treament company, Checkpoint Therapeutics for $355 million.

## SPARC

In 2007, Sun Pharma demerged its innovative R&D arm, and listed it separately on the stock market as the Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd. (NSE: SPARC, BSE: 532872). In 2013, SPARC declared revenue of ₹873 million. SPARC focuses on new chemical entities (NCE) research and new drug delivery systems and offers an annual update of its pipeline (NDDS).

## Awards

Sun Pharma stood second in the India's Most Reputed Brands (Pharmaceutical) list in a study conducted by BlueBytes, a leading Media Analytics firm in association with TRA Research, a brand insights organization (both a part of the Comniscient Group).

### 2019

* Listed among the Forbes "World's Best Regarded Companies"
* CSR subsidiary Foundation for Disease Elimination and Control of India conferred with Mahatma Award for Social Good 2019
* Mobile Healthcare Unit project recognised as the Best Public Health Initiative by ACEF Asian Leadership Forum

### 2020

* Listed among the Forbes World's Best Employers 2020
* Volini named in Nielsen BASES Top Breakthrough Innovation Winners India 2020 list

### 2021

* Received the Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, 2020
* Won the Dun & Bradstreet India Corporate Award under the Sectoral Performance-based category- Pharmaceuticals
* Received the Distribution Industry Award for Notable Achievements in Healthcare (DIANA) award for ‘Best New Product Introduction/Promotion’ at the Annual Healthcare Distribution Alliance Conference 2021
* Recognized as the Best Innovative Company of the Year 2021 at Indo-American Corporate Excellence Awards

### 2022

* Got Great Place to Work Certified
* Recognised as the #1 generic pharmaceutical company by patient groups in the annual PatientView ‘Corporate Reputation of Pharma’ survey 2021

### 2023

* Got Great Place to Work Certified