DKSH eyes India entry via acquisitions, targets specialty segments

DKSH

• DKSH plans to enter India's healthcare market via mergers and acquisitions.
• Focus on high-specialty pharma and medical devices, not mass-market generics.
• Entry expected in 12–24 months, aiming for a national distribution platform.

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Swiss market expansion giant DKSH Holding AG is taking the M&A route to India’s healthcare distribution sector, with focus on high-growth specialty pharmaceuticals and medical devices .

DKSH Holding is in talks with potential acquisition targets and expects an entry to take shape over the next 12 to 24 months, the company’s global head of healthcare business Bijay Singh told Moneycontrol.

“We are actively exploring opportunities and are in discussions with several companies,” Singh said, without sharing any names.

India will be a priority market after years of groundwork amid regulatory complexity and the covid pandemic, he said.

“India needs a very different approach. Greenfield would take too long, so we intend to acquire a platform and build from there,” Singh said.

Building a national platform

Unlike other Asian markets where DKSH operates as a single national distributor, India’s pharmaceutical supply chain is fragmented, dominated by thousands of city and state‑level distributors.

DKSH plans a phased strategy, starting with regional players and scaling into a national network, targeting medical devices and high‑specialty therapies such as oncology, rare diseases and complex hospital products rather than mass‑market generics.

The company believes demand is rising among global pharma and medtech firms for a distributor capable of end‑to‑end services, including regulatory support, cold‑chain logistics and hospital consignment management.

“Manufacturers have told us they would welcome DKSH entering India because of the service levels we offer across Asia,” Singh said.

Why now?

India’s healthcare market is expanding at 8–10 percent  annually, aided by rising insurance penetration and increased access to care, Singh said.

The rollout of the goods and services tax has also made national distribution more viable, allowing DKSH to revisit plans that were previously on hold.

DKSH already works closely with Indian drugmakers such as Cipla, Dr Reddy’s and Macleods Pharmaceuticals, distributing their products in Southeast Asia.

Entering India would deepen those relationships while allowing DKSH to deploy its proprietary systems for compliance, temperature‑controlled logistics and inventory tracking inside hospitals.

The India push will require significant investment running into millions of dollars, covering warehousing, technology and skilled manpower, Singh said.

While details remain under wraps, DKSH is positioning India as a long‑term growth engine within its healthcare division, which already accounts for nearly half of the group’s CHF 11.1 billion in annual revenue ($12.9 billion).