1. At a Glance
Anthem Biosciences Ltd is what happens when a hardcore R&D lab decides to lift weights, eat protein, and go public. Listed in July 2025 at a valuation that already screamed “premium only, no discounts allowed”, Anthem today sits at a market cap of ₹35,689 Cr, with the stock hovering around ₹635, down ~9% over 3 months and ~13% over 6 months. So yes, the honeymoon phase is over, welcome to married life.
Financially, Anthem flexes hard. FY25 sales at ₹1,997 Cr, PAT ₹503 Cr, OPM ~38%, ROCE 28.5%, ROE 20.8%, and a balance sheet that looks like it sleeps well at night (debt-to-equity 0.04). But the market is charging you a kidney for this comfort: P/E 71x, EV/EBITDA ~40x, and Price-to-Book ~13x. This is not a stock, this is a Michelin-star tasting menu.
Latest quarterly numbers? Q3 FY26 revenue ₹423 Cr, PAT ₹111 Cr, both down YoY and QoQ. Growth hiccup or digestion break after a biotech binge? That’s the question this article is here to roast, dissect, and serve with data.
So buckle up. We’re entering the cleanroom.
2. Introduction – From Lab Coats to Listed Unicorns
Anthem Biosciences was incorporated in 2006, quietly building a reputation in the global pharma ecosystem while retail investors were busy arguing about IT stocks and PSU banks. Fast forward to 2025, Anthem shows up at Dalal Street with an IPO of ₹33,950 Mn, confident swagger, and a pitch that basically said: “We do everything from molecule idea to commercial drug. You just pay.”
And to be fair, that pitch isn’t fluff.
Anthem is one of the rare Indian CRDMOs offering end-to-end services across both small molecules (NCEs) and large molecules (NBEs). This includes shiny buzzwords investors love: ADCs, RNAi, peptides, lipids, oligonucleotides. Basically, if Big Pharma is confused, Anthem is already billing them.
But markets are brutal therapists. They don’t care about your PhD; they care about growth consistency. FY25 was stellar, but FY26 so far is showing moderation. Q3 FY26 numbers
declined YoY and QoQ. Is this cyclical? Client concentration pain? Execution pause? Or just biology reminding us it doesn’t grow linearly like Excel models?
Before we judge, let’s understand what Anthem actually does.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Imagine a biotech startup with a molecule idea but no lab, no scale, and no patience. Enter Anthem.
Anthem operates as a Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO). Translation: they take your drug from “PowerPoint hypothesis” to “commercial API shipped globally”.
CRDMO Services
This is the core engine. Services span:
- Target identification & lead optimization
- Preclinical development
- Clinical trial material manufacturing (Phase I–III)
- Commercial manufacturing
And yes, this applies to both small molecules and biologics, which is rare in India. Most peers pick one lane. Anthem drives a Formula 1 car on both.
Specialty Ingredients
This is the quieter but profitable cousin. Anthem manufactures fermentation-based APIs and specialty ingredients like:
- Probiotics
- Enzymes
- Peptides
- Nutritional actives
- Vitamin analogues
This segment complements CRDMO, smoothens revenue volatility, and gives Anthem exposure to regulated and semi-regulated global markets.
Facilities & Capacity
- Unit I (Bommassandra): ~24 kL custom synthesis, ~2 kL fermentation
- Unit II (Harohalli): ~246 kL custom synthesis (expanding to ~376 kL), ~140 kL fermentation
- Unit III (Harohalli – under construction): ~25 kL synthesis, ~40 kL fermentation, expected by H1 FY26
No drama here. Just steady capacity stacking like a disciplined gym bro.
