Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502.T), opens new tab is exploring the option of conducting global clinical trials in India to accelerate the launch of its innovative drugs in the world’s most populous nation, its India head told Reuters.
The plan comes at a time when India’s clinical trials market is growing, powered by diverse patient pools, cost efficiency, and a fast-growing hospital network. Grand View Research expects the market to exceed $2 billion by 2030.
“India is a strategic growth market for Takeda, and we are making significant long-term investments… in terms of innovation and building capabilities,” said Annapurna Das, the general manager of Takeda’s India operations.
She did not share financial details of the investments.
“We’re exploring the opportunity of leveraging India’s clinical trial ecosystem,” Das said.
Takeda is also open to partnering with local academia, healthcare providers and technology firms in India for innovation, Das said, without sharing more specifics.
“At this point of time, we are still kind of exploring and evaluating how we want to go ahead,” she added.
Takeda’s eventual aim is to integrate India’s research and development “ecosystem” into its global pipeline and expand Indian patients’ access to cutting-edge therapies in oncology, neuroscience, gastrointestinal health, and inflammation.
The Japanese drugmaker aims to launch key cancer drugs over the next two to three years in India, with a lung cancer drug ready to hit the market this year. There’s also a dengue vaccine in its launch pipeline, for which Takeda has tied up with local vaccine maker Biological E., and is awaiting approval from India’s drug regulator.
Takeda established an innovation centre in Bengaluru, dubbed India’s “Silicon Valley”, earlier this year to tap the country’s tech talent to power its global digital transformation.
The centre is expanding to have 750 staff working in AI, data science, engineering, and design, from just over 500 employees currently.
