Although there is a plethora of studies which examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on India's financial sector, we contribute by investigating the effect of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on stock returns of Indian pharmaceutical companies. By employing an event study methodology, our results indicate that the average returns of the pharmaceutical sector are positive during the COVID-19 phase although mixed evidence is found at the firm level. This finding is also robust to alternative model specifications. © 2021 Bank Indonesia Institute. All rights reserved.