Sun Pharma in focus after tapping into $3.7 Billion ex-US/China PCSK9 inhibitor market
High cholesterol is one of those problems that most people know about and far fewer manage well. Statins are the first line of defence, but many patients at high cardiovascular risk still cannot bring their LDL cholesterol down to the levels doctors want. That gap has opened the door for newer injectable therapies. For drug makers, it has also become a race to find the right products and the right partners to take them to patients in every region.
Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd . were trading at Rs. 1,844.20, down 0.43 percent from previous close of Rs. 1,852.20. The stock opened at Rs. 1,844,.00, reaching an intraday high of Rs. 1,855.00 and low of Rs. 1,839.10. The company currently has a market capitalization of Rs. 4,42,389 crores.
What's the News?
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with US-based LIB Therapeutics for lerodalcibep, a PCSK9 inhibitor that lowers LDL cholesterol. Sun Pharma gets the rights to commercialise and manufacture the drug worldwide, except in the United States and China. LIB will receive an upfront payment, milestone payments and royalties on net sales in the licensed territories. The other terms are confidential.
The timing works well for the Sun. The drug received European approval on 21 September under the brand name Lyrokaul, and it is already approved in the US as Lerochol. It is a once-monthly injection, and the EU label allows patients to keep it at room temperature for up to six months after taking it out of the fridge. Sun will handle regulatory approvals in any licensed market where the drug is not yet cleared. Managing Director Kirti Ganorkar called it a significant step in building the company's global innovative medicines portfolio, especially in cardiovascular care.
Business Analysis
Looking at the quarterly results of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the company’s consolidated revenue increased by 11.92 percent YoY, from Rs. 14,315.8 crore in Q1 FY26 to Rs. 16,023.5 crore in Q1 FY27, and increased by 6.33 percent QoQ from Rs. 15,070.2 crore in Q4 FY26.
In Q1 FY27 Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s consolidated net profit increased by 27.04 percent YoY, reaching Rs. 2,894.79 crore compared to Rs. 2,278.63 crore during the same period last year. As compared to Q4 FY26, the net profit has increased by 6.66 percent, from Rs. 2,714.03 crore.
The basic earnings per share stood at Rs. 12.1 as against Rs. 9.5 recorded in the same quarter in the previous year, FY2026.
Sun Pharma is best known for its generics and its position as India's largest pharmaceutical company. But its innovative medicines business, which covers dermatology, ophthalmology and onco-dermatology, is the part it is pushing hardest. That portfolio already contributes about 22% of company sales. Adding a cardiovascular product gives it a new therapy area beyond skin and eye care, which reduces its reliance on a few categories.
The structure of the deal also suits Sun. Rather than spending years on discovery and trials, it is licensing a drug that already has approvals and paying through milestones and royalties. That keeps the upfront risk lower and ties later payments to how well the drug sells. Sun's existing reach in more than 100 countries and its experience in building specialty brands should help it move quickly in Europe and other markets. Since this is a licensing deal, there is no order book to speak of. What matters is how fast approvals come through and how well the launches go.
Industry Context
The market for PCSK9 inhibitors is growing fast. According to IQVIA, sales outside the US and China reached $3.7 billion in the year to the second quarter of 2026, growing at a 38% annual rate over the previous two years. Europe alone accounted for $2.9 billion of that. Globally, the market is close to $7 billion this year, so the territories Sun now controls make up more than half of it.
Demand is being driven by a large treatment gap. In a European study covering 18 countries, only 33% of patients on stable oral lipid-lowering therapy reached their risk-based LDL cholesterol goals. Updated 2026 guidelines now push for lower targets in high-risk patients, and that makes add-on therapies more relevant. Easier dosing and storage can also help more patients stay on treatment, and that is where a once-monthly injection with room-temperature flexibility has an edge.
Company Overview
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited is the largest pharmaceutical company in India and a leading generics player in the US and in emerging markets. It operates across innovative medicines, generics and consumer healthcare, and its medicines reach physicians and patients in over 100 countries. Its vertically integrated operations run manufacturing facilities across five continents. The company's workforce is drawn from more than 50 nations.