Novo Nordisk, whose global profile has risen along with demand for its Wegovy weight-loss drug, is bolstering operations in the world's most populous nation by beefing up senior leadership in India and partnering with local AI start-ups, a top executive told Reuters.
The moves are part of an expansion of the Danish drugmaker's operations in Bengaluru, which launched 17 years ago. The centre helps manage massive amounts of data collected on the safety and efficacy of its medicines, including information from clinical trials and reports of potential side effects.
The company, which has become among the world's most valuable due to soaring demand for Wegovy and related diabetes drug Ozempic, will double the number of global process leaders based in India over the next three to four years, and boost its overall headcount by 16% to 5,000 next year, John Dawber, Novo's managing director for global business services, said.
Novo also has partnerships with 10 start-ups in India to use artificial intelligence for a host of tasks including summarizing documents, extracting insights and checking for editing errors, Dawber said, adding that some of these AI tools are being used across its global operations.
The company's medical writers are using AI to reduce the time needed for quality checks on documents, some intended for submission to drug regulators in various required formats in countries ranging from the U.S. to Japan.
"It goes from 40 hours per document to about 40 minutes per document," Dawber said in an interview in Bengaluru.
Dawber said he expects the India centre to emerge as "an almost perfect mirror image" of the company's Bagsvaerd, Denmark headquarters in three years in terms of handling data central to research and development.
"It's still and always will be a shared activity. But certainly, the pendulum is swinging towards more responsibility for the today and the future products here in Bengaluru," he said.
Betting on India
Novo is not the only major pharmaceutical company betting big on India.
Earlier this year, French drugmaker Sanofi revealed plans to invest $437 million in its India centre.
Bristol Myers Squibb confirmed it expected its Hyderabad, India facility to become its largest unit outside the U.S. by 2025 as it looks to enhance drug development through the use of AI and digital technologies.
Half of Novo's global safety assessment work, which tracks reports of drug side effects and shares them with health regulators across the globe, is handled by its India operation.
Dawber's team in India also contributes to producing safety update reports, brochure updates through the drug development process, risk management plans and other publications.
Novo did not comment on the amount it has invested in expanding the India centre or its AI partnerships, but confirmed it was open to collaborating with more such startups in India.
Wegovy and rival drugs from Eli Lilly sold under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound belong to a class of therapies known as GLP-1 receptor agonists that help control blood sugar and slow digestion, making people feel full longer.
Novo and Lilly have plans to launch their drugs in India as they compete for a global weight-loss market some analysts have said could reach $150 billion in the next decade.
