Anthem Biosciences IPO opens today: Should you subscribe to it?

The initial public offering (IPO) on Anthem Biosciences kicks-off for bidding on Monday, July 14. The company is selling its shares in the range of Rs 540-570 apiece, which can be applied for a minimum of 26 equity shares and its multiples thereafter. The issue concludes for bidding on Wednesday, July 16.

IPO of Anthem Biosciences is entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 5,95,61,404 equity shares by its promoters and other selling shareholders to raise a total of Rs 3,395 crore. The company will not receive any proceeds from this issue and entire proceeds shall go to the selling shareholders.

Incorporated in 2006, Bengaluru-based Anthem Biosciences is an innovation-driven and technology-focused contract research, development, and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) with fully integrated operations encompassing drug discovery, development, and manufacturing processes.

It serves diverse customers, including innovative, emerging biotech firms and large pharmaceutical companies on a global scale. The company manufactures specialized fermentation-based APIs, including probiotics, enzymes, peptides, nutritional actives, vitamin analogues, and biosimilars.

Anthem Biosciences raised Rs 1,016.02 crore from 60 anchor investors as it allocated 1.78 crore shares at a price of Rs 570 apiece. Its anchor book included names like  Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Government Pension Fund Global, Eastspring Investments, Amundi Funds, Optimix Wholesale Global Emerging Markets Share Trust, PineBridge Global Funds, Societe Generale and more.

For the financial year ended on March 31, 2025, Anthem Biosciences reported a net profit of Rs 451.26 crore with a revenue of Rs 1,930.29 crore. The company clocked a net profit of Rs 367.31 crore with a revenue of Rs 1,483.07 crore for the fiscal year 2023-24. The company shall command a total market capitalization of 31,867.39 crore.

The company has reserved shares worth Rs 8.25 crore for its eligible employees, who will get a discount of Rs 50 in the IPO. Of the net offer, 50 per cent shares shall be reserved for qualified institutional bidders, while non-institutional investors (NIIs) will have 15 per cent for the allocation. Retail investors will have 35 per cent of allocation in the IPO.

JM Financial, Citigroup Global Markets India, JP Morgan India and Nomura Financial Advisory & Securities (India) are the book-running lead managers of the Anthem Biosciences IPO, while Kfin Technologies is the registrar for the issue. Shares of the company shall be listed on both BSE and NSE with Monday, July 21. Here's what a host of brokerage firms say about the IPO of Anthem Bio:
 

Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Broking
Rating: Subscribe
Anthem biosciences is positioned to cater in CROs and CRDMO segment the crucial players in the pharma and biotechnology industries wherein it is being niche player in with high entry barriers through its differentiated FFS model, long term relationship, strong R&D, innovation and technology driven approach across drug discovery, development and manufacturing, said Anand Rathi.

"It has shown a profitable track record against its peers and intends to maintain it by leveraging its integrated manufacturing and technological capabilities by focusing on building complex specialty ingredients, peptides, probiotics. We believe the company has potential to continue to grow its revenue and profitability ratios compared to its peers," it added with a 'subscribe' rating.
 

Canara Bank Securities
Rating: Subscribe for long term
Anthem Bio has had a stable financial performance for the past three years, where revenue has grown at a CAGR of 32 per cent from 1056 crore in FY 23 to 1844 Cr in FY 25, whereas PAT has grown at a CAGR of 8 per cent from 385 crore in FY 23 to 451 crore in FY 25. The issue is fairly priced, which is at a discount of its listed peers, said Canara Bank Securities.

"The company is well poised to take advantage of the growing pharma industry, with a differentiated FFS model which allows customer flexibility and enables emerging biotech to partner with Anthem. The company is also leading ESG initiatives with high emphasis on renewable energy. We recommend 'subscribe' for long-term gains," it said.
 

SBI Securities
Rating: Subscribe
Anthem Biosciences' IPO is valued at a P/E multiple of 70.9 times based on FY25 earnings on post issue capital. It has registered strong revenue, Ebitda and adjusted PAT CAGR of 32 per cent, 25 per cent and 18 per cent (FY23-FY25) to Rs 1,845 crore, Rs 671 per cent and Rs 451 per cent, respectively. The entire issue is OFS and the business is self-sufficient to fund its growth capital, said SBI Securities.

"It is well placed to encash on the fast-growing CRDMO industry on the back of capacity expansion plans and funding in place; well established track record of profitable growth; and strong business pipeline.  While comparing with peers, the IPO is fairly priced along with a superior return and margin profile. We recommend investors to 'subscribe' to the IPO," it added.
 

Choice Broking
Rating: Subscribe for long-term
Anthem Bio's valuations appear to be fully priced when compared to the peer average, after excluding high P/E multiples such as Cohance Lifesciences. It has reported a declining trend in both its operating and PAT margins as the CRDMO sector is highly competitive with established players like Syngene and Divi's Labs commanding premium valuations, said Choice Broking.

However, margins are better than the industry peers and going forward capacity expansion will lead to growth in revenue terms but there remains limited upside on the margin front. Therefore, considering the constrained upside potential and fierce market competition, we recommend a 'subscribe for long term' rating for the issue, it said.
 

Aditya Birla Money
Rating: Subscribe
Anthem's customer profile and molecule pipeline provide long-term demand visibility reinforced by strategic capacity expansion. The company is backed by a seasoned leadership team with deep industry expertise which is reflected in its excellent financial performance & best in industry metrics, said Aditya Birla Money with a 'subscribe' rating for the issue.

All these factors considered together command premium valuations over the industry averages, it added but cited growth dependency on success of pipeline molecules, regulatory compliance risk across geographies, customer concentration impacts revenue stability, FFS model tied to deliverables, and rapid tech shifts requiring investment as key risks.
 

SMIFS
Rating: Subscribe
"We recommend to subscribe to the issue as a good long term investment, as the doubling of capacities in the first phase of capex and then another round of capex will propel the company into the league of the largest fermentation players in India and deeper penetration in regulated markets may also result in faster ramp-up of the new capacities coupled," said SMIFS.
 

Swastika Investmart
Rating: Subscribe
Anthem is valued at a premium to most domestic CRDMO peers, reflecting its leading fermentation capacity, strong global client base, and robust financials, said Swastika Investmart. "Well-positioned in a high-growth sector with robust financials and global client relationships If you seek exposure to the high-growth biosciences sector then, subscribe for the listing gains and long term," it said.
 

Ventura Securities
Rating: Subscribe
Anthem maintains a strong FFS contract success rate of 95.59 per cent. Anthem operates under stringent regulatory compliance, including certifications from USFDA, ANVISA, and ISO, ensuring high standards in its operations and services. Technological expertise in high-growth modalities, and industry-leading fermentation capacity, the company is well-aligned with rising demand for biologics, said Ventura.

"Anthem Biosciences is exceptionally positioned to capitalize on the fast-growing global CRDMO market, projected to expand at a CAGR of 9.1 per cent from $213.1 billion in 2024 to $330 billion by 2029, with the Indian market growing even faster at 13.4 per cent," it said.
 

Sushil Finance
Rating: Subscribe for long-term
Anthem Biosciences business model is designed to scale with India’s evolving Bioscience sector, said Sushil Finance. "It is a pure Offer for Sale issue. Looking at all the factors, risks, opportunities and valuation, investors with a long-term investment horizon can invest in the issue," it said.