Zydus Lifesciences has completed its acquisition of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) business of Sterling Biotech Limited, bringing a portfolio of fermentation-based APIs and a manufacturing unit at Masar, near Vadodara in Gujarat, under its own operations. The Ahmedabad-based drugmaker confirmed the closing in a stock exchange filing on 2 November 2026, after the conditions precedent and closing-date adjustments set out in the business transfer agreement were met.

What Zydus has acquired

• Business: Sterling Biotech’s API business, transferred as a going concern on a slump-sale, cash-free and debt-free basis
• Consideration: a pre-defined lump sum of ₹84 crore (₹840 million), as set out when the board approved the deal on 17 September 2024
• Products: fermentation-based APIs including the cholesterol drug Lovastatin and the oncology molecules Daunorubicin, Doxorubicin and Epirubicin
• Site: an API manufacturing unit at Masar village near Vadodara, close to Zydus’s existing facility at Dabhasa
• Scale: the business reported turnover of ₹66.83 crore in FY24, based on unaudited figures disclosed in 2024

A deal two years in the making

The transaction traces back to August 2024, when Zydus, through a wholly owned subsidiary, acquired a 50% stake in Sterling Biotech. While buying that stake, the company negotiated a right to acquire the API business at a pre-agreed value, and it exercised that right in September 2024. Zydus had initially expected the acquisition to close by 31 December 2024; the timeline was extended while conditions under the agreement were completed, HDFC Sky reported. The latest filing did not disclose any change to the financial terms.

Why fermentation APIs matter

When it announced the deal, Zydus said it was looking specifically for a fermentation-based API business with a manufacturing facility because of the segment’s high entry barriers and attractive margins. The company already runs a dedicated fermentation lab focused on new product development, and said that building a new plant through the greenfield route would be more expensive and take longer, Business Standard reported at the time.

Fermentation-derived molecules, such as statins and anthracycline anticancer agents, need specialised microbial strains, large fermenters and tightly controlled downstream purification. That makes established capacity hard to replicate quickly, and it is a capability India has been working to deepen as it reduces reliance on imported key starting materials and intermediates.

What it means for Indian pharma manufacturing

The closing adds to a run of capacity moves across India’s API and CDMO ecosystem this season, from Sudeep Pharma’s greenfield excipients plant at Nandesari to Alivus Life Sciences’ new Solapur API site. Upstream integration also matters for exports, which rose 4.9% to $16.14 billion in H1 FY27. For Zydus, owning the Masar unit gives it ready fermentation capacity next to its Dabhasa operations, along with an existing oncology and cardiovascular API portfolio.

Key takeaways

• Zydus Lifesciences completed its acquisition of Sterling Biotech’s API business on 2 November 2026.
• The ₹84 crore deal brings fermentation-based APIs such as Lovastatin, Daunorubicin, Doxorubicin and Epirubicin, and a plant at Masar near Vadodara.
• Zydus chose the acquisition route over a costlier, slower greenfield fermentation plant.

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