IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (IOLCP) has announced three projects worth about ₹495 crore in total, all at Barnala in Punjab and all funded from internal accruals.
The largest is a new backward integrated ibuprofen unit that adds 6,000 tonnes a year, taking capacity from 12,000 to 18,000 tonnes. Existing lines are running at 95 percent utilisation. The project will cost about ₹350 crore, with commercial production expected by December 2027.
IOLCP is also building a formulations contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) facility able to make about 1,500 million tablets a year, at a cost of about ₹110 crore. The site already holds a GMP certificate from Hungary’s drug inspectorate and will serve anchor customers in Europe from the third quarter of FY27.
The third project is a dedicated specialty chemicals plant costing about ₹35 crore, built under a long term tolling agreement with a global chemical company that is not a related party. It is also due to start in the third quarter of FY27.
Market Research Outlook: IOLCP is using its ibuprofen scale to move up the value chain into finished dosage manufacturing for Europe. Europe’s push to diversify away from single country supply makes Indian pharmaceutical contract manufacturing more attractive. The tolling deal also shows global chemical firms are outsourcing more production to India.
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