Cohance Lifesciences invests ₹98 crore in ADC, oligos

The announcement in brief

Cohance Lifesciences, a Hyderabad-based contract research, development and manufacturing organisation (CRDMO), has outlined two capacity expansion projects aimed at high-growth drug modalities. The company will invest US$10 million in a current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) bioconjugation suite at its US subsidiary, NJ Bio, in Princeton, New Jersey. In India, it is investing ₹230 million (₹23 crore) in a cGMP oligonucleotide building block manufacturing facility at its Hyderabad site. Taken together, the planned spend has been described as around ₹98 crore across India and the US.

The push is framed around strengthening Cohance’s ability to deliver more integrated antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) programs, spanning payload, linker and conjugation capabilities. The company has positioned ADCs as a long-term growth opportunity within pharma services. Executive Chairman Vivek Sharma said ADC is a major driver of growth for pharma services, including Cohance.

Context: Suven Pharmaceuticals merger and a re-focused platform

Earlier this year, Indian drugmaker Suven Pharmaceuticals Limited merged with Cohance Lifesciences Limited, resulting in the merged entity now operating as Cohance Lifesciences. The company operates across pharmaceutical development and manufacturing, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), formulations, and specialty chemicals. It has also highlighted high-growth modalities such as ADCs and oligonucleotides as focus areas.

Cohance has indicated that a meaningful portion of its FY25 capital expenditure has been deployed toward building “high-value, differentiated platforms” particularly ADCs and oligonucleotides. The latest announcements fit into that broader investment narrative, with facilities and capabilities being built to address innovator-led demand in niche technologies.

US expansion: NJ Bio’s cGMP bioconjugation suite

The largest announced project is the US$10 million investment at NJ Bio to expand cGMP bioconjugation capabilities. In rupee terms, the company and media reports have described this as roughly ₹85 crore, while a PTI report put it at around ₹87.6 crore. The company said the new build-out is a “state-of-the-art” cGMP-compliant bioconjugation suite at the Princeton facility.

Operationally, the suite is intended to strengthen Cohance’s integrated ADC offering by bringing payload-linker development and bioconjugation capabilities closer together. The facility is expected to support innovators from early development through late-phase clinical supply. Cohance has said the new suite will boost clinical ADC manufacturing capacity to meet Phase 1 and Phase 2 needs.

The company has also disclosed a concrete utilisation anchor: NJ Bio is executing a major program for an existing innovator customer with multiple ADC candidates. It added that discussions are underway with three to four additional potential customers as ADC programs shift into cGMP manufacturing.

What the NJ Bio facility will be able to produce

Cohance has stated that the new bioconjugation suite is expected to have an operational capacity to manufacture up to 2 kg of ADCs. The suite is expected to be operational by the end of Q4 FY26, also described as “end of FY26” in company communication. Another detail disclosed is that the New Jersey site recently secured its first integrated order covering linker, payload, and conjugation services, underscoring the company’s integrated positioning in ADC supply chains.

India expansion: ₹23 crore cGMP oligonucleotide building block facility

In parallel, Cohance announced a ₹230 million (₹23 crore) investment to set up a new cGMP oligonucleotide building block manufacturing facility in Hyderabad. The company described the project as a cGMP-compliant build focused on oligonucleotide building blocks, with capabilities that include advanced cleanroom systems and scalability from R&D to commercial production.

Cohance has indicated the facility is designed for an annual capacity of 700 kg. It has also stated that validations are expected by CY26. The company framed this Hyderabad investment as part of the same integrated modalities strategy that includes ADC services.

How Cohance is structuring its ADC footprint across two sites

Cohance has described a two-site approach for ADCs. In India, Nacharam (Hyderabad) is positioned for payload manufacturing, including commercial payload supply to customers in the West and in Asia, according to the Executive Chairman’s comments. In the US, NJ Bio is positioned for linkers and conjugation, supporting integrated delivery from early-phase payload-linker synthesis through to complete ADC manufacturing for clinical supply.

This split is aligned with how many ADC programs are executed globally, where complex steps like linker chemistry and conjugation require specialised cGMP suites and tight process controls. Cohance’s stated aim is to capture rising global demand for ADC-related services by building capacity where innovator demand is concentrated.

Key disclosed data points

Market impact: why ADC and oligo capacity matters

Cohance’s announcements arrive as the company highlights a projected global ADC market size of $1 billion by 2029-2030. While the company did not disclose revenue expectations tied to these projects, it did provide indicators of commercial traction, including an existing major program at NJ Bio and an integrated order covering linker, payload and conjugation services.

For customers, expanded cGMP bioconjugation capacity can reduce bottlenecks when ADC candidates transition from development into clinical supply. The company has explicitly linked its US investment to supporting innovators from early development through late-phase clinical supply. For investors tracking the CRDMO theme, the announcements point to continued capital deployment toward niche platforms rather than broad, commodity manufacturing.

Analysis: what to watch over FY26 and CY26

Two timelines stand out in the disclosed information. First is the expected operationalisation of the NJ Bio bioconjugation suite by end of Q4 FY26, with a stated manufacturing capacity of up to 2 kg of ADCs. Second is the Hyderabad oligonucleotide facility, where validations are expected by CY26 and the planned annual capacity is 700 kg.

Another marker to watch is customer conversion. Cohance has said it is in discussions with three to four additional potential customers for ADC work as programs shift to cGMP manufacturing, on top of a major existing innovator program. Progress on these discussions, and the pace at which the new bioconjugation suite becomes productive, will be relevant indicators of how quickly capacity translates into sustained utilisation.

Conclusion

Cohance Lifesciences has announced two targeted investments, totalling around ₹98 crore across India and the US, to expand its capabilities in ADCs and oligonucleotides. The US$10 million cGMP bioconjugation suite at NJ Bio is expected to be operational by end of Q4 FY26, while the Hyderabad oligonucleotide building block facility is designed for 700 kg annual capacity with validations expected by CY26. The next set of updates is likely to centre on commissioning milestones, validation progress, and customer onboarding as ADC programs move into cGMP manufacturing.