Wockhardt has achieved a historic milestone after receiving US FDA approval for its breakthrough antibiotic Zaynich, marking a major moment for India’s pharmaceutical industry. In this exclusive conversation, founder chairman Habil Khorakiwala reveals the company’s global launch plans, revenue expectations, US strategy and the massive market opportunity ahead.
The company is targeting a multi-billion-dollar antibiotic market with launches planned across India, the US and eventually Europe. Wockhardt also discusses its long-term innovation pipeline and why this could redefine India’s position...
What Habil Khorakiwala said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Habil Khorakiwala, founder chairman of Wockhardt, called the US FDA approval of Zenic a historic first for Indian research products, noting it targets multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria that kill nearly 1 million people annually in India. He said compassionate use in over 80 patients across India, the US, and France showed exceptional success where other antibiotics failed. Launch in India and the US is planned within six months, with Europe about a year later. Pricing is undecided but will align with new molecules. He projected peak global demand of $1.5-2 billion for Zenic, with a 15-20% market share of a $9 billion market, 40-45% of which is in the US. Patent protection extends to 2038. Wockhardt will market Zenic itself in India and the US, with partners for sales support. FY27 revenue from Zenic will be minimal due to launch timing and investment needs.
Key takeaways
Zenic is the first Indian research product approved by the US FDA, targeting multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria.
Launch in India and the US within six months; Europe about a year after US introduction.
Peak global demand for Zenic projected at $1.5-2 billion, with 15-20% market share of a $9 billion market.
Patent protection for Zenic extends to 2038, providing about 10 years of market exclusivity.
Wockhardt will market Zenic itself in India and the US, using partners for sales support.
Numbers and commitments
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What it refers to
Type
At
1 million
people killed annually in India by multidrug-resistant infections
Gift Nifty is still indicating a 200 point gap down. Let's see how that kind of shapes up, you know, as we head into the open. But the big one, at least in terms of a performance in terms of stock price performance, is a Wockhart and we have Dr. Habil Khorakiwala, founder chairman at Wockhart group, joining us this morning on that big approval that's come through. Mr. Khorakiwala, firstly congratulations on the US FDA as well as the approval from the Indian regulator as well, a remarkable moment for Wockhart of course and arguably a remarkable moment for the whole of the India pharma industry. But as you step into FY27, give us the sense with regard to what the revenue opportunity from Zenic actually looks like. What's the revenue opportunity say for this? Yeah.
Let me first mention this is a very historic occasion where for the first time Indian research product is approved by US FDA in the entire industry. And this antibiotic multi-drug resistance nearly kills 1 million people every year in India. And Zenic is one of the key drugs which covers a vast face of gram negative organisms. And the compassionate cases of more than 80 patients in India, US and France, it was proved exceptionally successful where all other existing antibiotics have failed. So we are just launching this product. We got an approval. In next six months we would be launching both in India and in the US. So our sales expectation is very difficult to say for the current year because it will be the end of the year. But for next year, I think we should be... normally what happens, a new drug takes a little time to build up for the hospital and doctor to prescribe. So it takes about 12 to 18 months before it starts doing well, and then the growth afterwards is like a hockey stick. So it grows very rapidly after that.
Good morning Dr. Khorakiwala. You know, you have approvals now for US and India simultaneously with Europe in the pipeline. These three are very different markets in terms of pricing and competition. Which geography writes the first check for Wockhart and how are you sequencing your launch priorities?
We would be introducing first in India and US in next six to six months or so. And Europe approval has not yet come. It will come a little later and there you have to get the price approval every state. So it takes a little longer time. So European marketing would be about a year after the US introduction basically. And during after US approval, I think we would be another four to five important markets globally.
See, the pricing decision we have not yet taken and it is not... so once we take, we will know. But it will be more or less in line with a new molecule which are introduced in the US and in India. So that is one second. I think we expect a global demand for at the peak around $1.5 to $2 billion dollars for US, but total market size available is about $9 billion. But we expect 15-20% market share over the period of time for Zenic, and 40-45% of this market is in United States.
Khorakiwala, H. (2026, June 2). Wockhardt’s Historic US FDA: India’s First Global Antibiotic Blockbuster? | Habil Khorakiwala [Interview transcript]. ET Now. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1138531/
MLA
Habil Khorakiwala. "Wockhardt’s Historic US FDA: India’s First Global Antibiotic Blockbuster? | Habil Khorakiwala." ET Now, 2 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1138531/.
BibTeX
@misc{khorakiwala2026_1138531,
author = {Habil Khorakiwala},
title = {Wockhardt’s Historic US FDA: India’s First Global Antibiotic Blockbuster? | Habil Khorakiwala},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, ET Now. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jun},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1138531/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
