Strides’ Stelis is taking its next steps in the biosimilars segment with teriparatide, insulin glargine and insulin aspart. After recently completing Series B and Series C funding rounds worth $195m, Stelis also said that it was onboarding customers for its CDMO services under multi-year contracts. The company has also signed its first vaccine supply contract with the Russian Direct Investment Fund for the Sputnik V vaccine.

While speculation mounts about Serum Institute being next in line for an RDIF partnership, Gland Pharma and Strides unit Stelis sign up to make COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V. Part of the 550 million dose output tied up from India so far could be consumed domestically, but exports are a possibility as demand from European countries is set to jump.

Appointing executives from Endo in key positions, Strides' CEO has set up a team to deliver growth, though the impact of ranitidine withdrawal and COVID-19 will defer a revenue target of $800m. Meanwhile, Stelis Biopharma signals a shift in focus from biologics development to CDMO opportunities and is poised for a stock exchange listing.