Sun Pharma’s pending $11.75-billion acquisition of Organon was one of the largest M&A in 2026 and is aligned with its strategy of in part diversifying into innovator drugs, a step taken by other Indian companies.  

Diversification into innovator drugs
Facing the highly cost competitive nature of the generics industry, large generic companies are diversifying their portfolios to include innovator products, both in development and commercial products. Illustrative of that trend, in one of the largest deals thus far in 2026, in April (April 2026), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, a Mumbai, India-based bio/pharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire Organon & Co., the former women’s health, biosimilars, and established brand business of Merck & Co., which was spun off as an independent company in 2021, for $11.75 billion.  The deal is expected to close in early 2027 and based on Sun Pharma’s estimates, move the company into the top 25 of global pharmaceutical companies.  

Organon’s portfolio includes more than 70 products across women’s health and general medicines, which includes biosimilars. The company has six manufacturing facilities across the European Union and emerging markets. In 2025, Organon reported revenues of $6.2 billion.

Primarily a generics company, the pending acquisition of Organon is aligned with Sun Pharma’s strategy of growing its Innovative Medicines business, which is focused in dermatology, oncology, and ophthalmology. Upon closing, the combined company would have combined revenues of $12.4 billion with Sun Pharma’s Innovative Medicines accounting for 27%. The company has made recent smaller acquisitions to grow its Innovative Medicines business, including its $576-million acquisition of Concert Pharmaceuticals in 2023 and Checkpoint Therapeutics, a company specializing in immunotherapies and targeted therapies for cancer, for $418 million last year (2025). With the acquisition of Concert Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharma gained Leqselvi (deuruxolitinib), a drug for treating alopecia areata, an autoimmune dermatological disease resulting in total or partial hair loss. With the acquisition of Checkpoint Therapeutics, it gained Unloxcyt (cosibelimab-ipdl), an immunotherapy for treating advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.

In addition, Sun Pharma says the combined company would make it the top three company in women’s health and the number seven company in biosimilars.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, a Mumbai, India-based bio/pharmaceutical company, is positioned in innovator drugs through Ichnos Glenmark Innovation (IGI), a New York-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative biologics in oncology. IGI is an alliance formed in 2024 between Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and its US-based biotech subsidiary, Inchos Sciences. IGI has four antibody assets in its pipeline in oncology. ABBV-2001, a multi-specific immune cell activator targeting solid tumors and licensed to AbbVie, received Orphan Drug and Fast Track Designations from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is currently in a Phase I study for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. In 2025, AbbVie and IGI Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of IGI, formed an exclusive nearly $2.0-billion licensing agreement ($700 million upfront and $1.225 billion in potential milestone payments) for IGI’s lead investigational asset, ISB 2001 for oncology and autoimmune diseases. AbbVie receives exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize ISB 2001 across North America, Europe, Japan, and Greater China. ISB 2301 is a multi-specific immune cell activator targeting solid tumors, and the company reported in July (July 2026) that it intends to submit an investigational new drug application later this year (2026). ISB 2302, a bispecific immune modulator for cancer, and ISB 2501, a trispecific T-cell engager for solid tumors, are both in early preclinical development.