Despite facing a significant shortage of its famous and in-demand diabetes and weight-loss drugs globally, collaborations, Dawber told Mint, will be the extent of Novo’s operations in India as it already has “strategic production sites across the globe for manufacturing”.
“The Indian set-up is the crown jewel of Novo Nordisk. We have been doing contract manufacturing here per our quality guidance, licence, etc. And so, we would like to expand that kind of collaboration,” he said.
“We have gradually been increasing the functions performed in Bangaluru, and now we are doing all sorts of global work here, clinical data management, supply chain management, etc. So, I believe we would like to continue working on elevating this work,” he added.
Novo is happy collaborating for now
The company has been finding it difficult to meet the ever-increasing demand for its GLP-1 products or obesity and diabetes drugs. In order to meet the short-term gap between demand and supply, it plans to expand manufacturing capacities at its existing production sites rather than setting up a new manufacturing hub.
Novo, though, will continue to collaborate with local manufacturers in India with a possibility of collaborating for Novo’s in-demand drugs as well. “I think it’s possible that we might collaborate for GLP-1 products with Indian manufacturers, but that’s out of the scope of my role, as it’s very much a global operation, and the decision is for the headquarters to make,” Dawber said.
The company’s operation in these strategic production sites is hugely dependent on its Indian centre, which has grown from a service centre to a full-service home over the years. The company has strategic production sites in Denmark, France, Brazil, China, and the US. The supply chain organization for these sites is managed in Bengaluru.
The company, therefore, plans to add 1,300 new job roles to its centre in India by 2026, with plans to onboard 700 new hires by the end of this year. Novo currently has a shade over 4,000 employees in India.
The hiring, Dawber disclosed, will span across functions, including doctors, pharmacists, researchers, statisticians, commercial experts, marketers, analysts, finance and accountants, IT engineers and architects.
MNCs prefer GCC route Â
Over the past few years, Global Capability Centres (GCC) have emerged as the lynchpin for growth and innovation across various sectors. India, in particular, has become a leading destination for establishing GCCs, mainly because of cheaper talent and conducive government policies.
A GCC, or a Global In-House Center (GIC), is an offshore unit set up by a multinational corporation (MNC) to provide services to its parent organization.
India boasts over 1,600 GCCs and a workforce of over 1.66 million. According to an October 2023 PwC report, India is poised to have 2,100 GCCs by 2028, with the market size of the centres touching $90 billion.
In the March quarter of 2023-24 alone, India saw 10 new GCCs, with 60% covering engineering, research and development (ER&D), IT services and business process management, according to a KPMG and Nasscom report released in May.
Furthermore, healthcare and pharma GCCs have witnessed an increased partnership with startups and academia to access newer technologies.
According to India’s Economic Survey 2023-24, GCCs are projected to contribute approximately 3.5% to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, with revenues expected to reach around $121 billion. Notably, the presence of global leaders in GCCs in India has surged to over 5,000 from just 115 in 2015, reflecting a broader trend across various business functions.
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