Chiral and specialty building blocks: Production
How China, India and the West share chiral chemistry
What this tab covers Who makes it and how much: world capacity and output, utilisation, the top producing countries and companies globally and in India, concentration, new capacity coming, and each region's position.| Measure | Figure | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| World capacity | not published | no public total | |
| World output | not published | no public total | |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | CDMO and fine-chemical capacity was stretched in 2021-2022 by Covid drug programmes and then underused in 2023-2024 (indicative). | indicative |
| Concentration | fragmented; no published company shares | IMARC lists BASF, Chiracon, Chiral Technologies (Daicel), Codexis, Johnson Matthey, PerkinElmer, Solvias, Strem Chemicals, Toray and W.R. Grace. Much volume is made inside drug companies and CDMOs and never sold as a building block. | IMARC (2026) |
| New capacity | not published | Indian CDMOs and API makers are adding multipurpose capacity and biocatalysis teams as Western buyers diversify from China (indicative). | indicative |
Top producing countries
- China: largest producer of chiral intermediates by volume; Porton, Asymchem and many Zhejiang and Jiangxi makers (indicative; FMI lists mostly Chinese makers of chiral amino alcohols)
- India: large in resolution-based intermediates and APIs (Divi's, Laurus, Neuland, Anthem) (indicative)
- United States: largest demand region (North America 42.1%, US 88.4% of that, IMARC 2025); Codexis, Chiral Technologies
- Europe (Germany, Switzerland): BASF, Solvias, Lonza, Siegfried and others (indicative)
- Japan: Takasago, Daicel, Toray, Kaneka (indicative)
Largest producers: global
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BASF ChiPros chiral amines and alcohols by enzymatic resolution (indicative) | Germany | not published | 2025 | IMARC (2026) |
| Codexis engineered enzymes for chiral steps; revenue about $139 million (2022) to about $70 million (2023) after Covid drug demand ended (indicative) | US | not published | 2023 | Codexis 10-K (indicative) |
| Chiral Technologies (Daicel) chiral stationary phases and separation services | Japan/US | not published | 2025 | IMARC (2026) |
| Solvias chiral ligands (Josiphos family) and process development | Switzerland | not published | 2025 | IMARC (2026) |
| Takasago International asymmetric synthesis of L-menthol using BINAP catalysts (indicative) | Japan | not published | 2025 | indicative |
| Porton Pharma Solutions chiral amino alcohols and CDMO services | China | not published | 2025 | Future Market Insights (2025) |
| Toray Industries chiral fine chemicals (indicative) | Japan | not published | 2025 | IMARC (2026) |
Largest producers: India
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divi's Laboratories APIs and custom synthesis with many chiral steps; revenue about Rs 8,900 crore (FY2022), Rs 7,770 crore (FY2023), Rs 9,360 crore (FY2025) (indicative) | India | not published | FY2025 | company annual reports (indicative) |
| Laurus Labs APIs and CDMO, including chiral intermediates (indicative) | India | not published | FY2026 | indicative |
| Neuland Laboratories complex APIs and peptides with chiral chemistry (indicative) | India | not published | FY2026 | indicative |
| Anthem Biosciences CRDMO with biocatalysis and fermentation (indicative) | India | not published | FY2026 | indicative |
India has strong resolution and API chemistry but imports many advanced chiral intermediates and resolving agents from China (indicative). The PLI scheme for key starting materials and intermediates (2020) aims to cut that dependence.
Position by region
| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| US | Largest buyer; the BIOSECURE Act (signed 18 Dec 2025) and WuXi AppTec's 1260H listing (June 2026, enjoined by a court in Aug 2026) push some sourcing to India and Europe. |
| EU | Innovator and CDMO base (Switzerland, Germany, Ireland); strict GMP and solvent rules. |
| India | Resolution-based chiral chemistry is a strength; advanced intermediates and enzymes often imported (indicative). |
| China | Largest volume producer of chiral intermediates and building blocks (indicative). |
| Japan | Pioneer of asymmetric catalysis (Noyori, Takasago); chiral chromatography (Daicel). |
| Middle East | No significant production. |