Pharma Innovation in India: Eisai’s GCC Strategy

Pharma GCCs are no longer making their mark only based on cost savings but rather on discovery acceleration. India is home to ~1,900 GCCs globally (~53% of the total), with ~3,200 in existence worldwide, and is rapidly growing in scale and capabilities based on the requirements of AI and R&D.

The macro tailwinds are quite strong in pharmaceuticals. The current Indian pharmaceutical industry is estimated at ~US$55-65B, supports around 20 per cent of global generics and 60 per cent of low-cost vaccines, and is forecasted to reach US$120-130B by 2030. This is a growth chart that enhances global access even if it increases the Indian export surplus. This creates India as a pharma innovation hub for pharma multinationals to build discovery in GCC playfields that compress R&D cycles and reduce the overall cost of discovery.

Eisai Bets on India GCC

In July 2025, Eisai announced a Global Capability Center in Visakhapatnam, with a vision to be a digital nerve center of AI-enabled drug development, clinical data analytics, and decision support that would support its human healthcare mission in India. It turns out to be a blueprint that pharma leaders can follow by putting patient-centric digital R&D within reach of deep data, maths and engineering at scale.

India For Healthcare Innovation

Innovative civilian & digital skills: India GCCs are focusing on AI analytics, automation, and predictive science (as well as AI-enabled convergence), yielding concretely quantifiable innovation output and outcomes.
Economic Benefit: The operating costs are intrinsically lower, whereas the time-zone advantage with the US/EU/Japan will provide GCC pharmaceutical market participants with cost-efficient 24/7 follow-the-sun trials data operations, thereby enhancing cycle times.
Ripe GCC Fabric: India has 1,900+ GCCs that can help the India playbook and have vendors and regulators who understand the Pharmaceutical innovation in GCC contexts.

Eisai’s GCC strategy

Pillar (What We Build/Operate)	What It Enables	Business Impact
Patient-centric data platforms	Integrate RWD/RWE, eSource pipelines, and quality signals.	Faster evidence generation; risk-based monitoring
AI for discovery & development	ML for molecule triage, safety signal detection	Reduced pre-clinical & clinical cycle time
Cross-border collaboration fabric	Real-time Japan–US–India workflows, compliant data exchange	Fewer handoffs; higher trial velocity
Talent pipelines & governance	Clinical data science, biostats, MLOps, GxP controls	Scale with compliance, lower total cost

Global Patient Outcomes Innovation Hub India

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Each step draws advantage of India’s cost-effective skilled units, standard platforms and 24X7 execution, closing the loop between visibility and action.

Some Data Points That De-Risk the Model

1,900+ GCCs; revenue of $64.6B; workforce of 1.9M – a basis upon which complex pharma work could be done.
480+ mid-market GCCs with ~210k employees prove that focused, high-skill centers can work with smaller companies than just the mega-MNCs.
Global companies are shifting their AI engineering and analytics into India GCCs to enhance competitiveness and profitability.
By 2030, the market is projected to nearly double, with exports increasing – facilitating sustainable investment in Healthcare innovation in the GCC.
Vizag GCC to fast-track the digital healthcare solutions and clinical analytics out of India.

Economic Benefits

The economic benefits are gained along three axes:

Productivity arbitrage (Multidisciplinary teams at lesser blended cost);
Time arbitrage (Data operations follow the sun; faster decision-making);
The density of AI/biostats/MLOps Capability arbitrage.

The cumulative impact is reduced cycle time, improved R&D throughput and superior global access economics – important factors in making India a pharma innovation hub.

Our BOT Strategy For Pharma GCC

Design: Discovery data, RBQM, Pharmacovizlance Analytics and target-operating models for quality systems.
Stand-up: Facility, secret secretewops, GXP control, data governance, seller ecosystem.
Scale: Talent Academy (Biostatistics, CDISC, PV), AI platform engineering, compliant cloud.
Price Assurance: Results KPIs – First Time, Query Rate, Protocol Division, Model Lift, and Per-Molecual costs were benchmarks.

What’s Next?

Vizag GCC will highlight the next generation of the GCC pharmaceutical market: AI-first clinical data engines, precision medicine analytics and university/start-up co-innovation with India as a hub. The message to the pharma leaders is straightforward: have your core digital drug development in India; it is going to be faster, smarter, and more human-centred.

Conclusion

The GCC strategy by Eisai in India is proof of how pharmaceutical companies can move beyond the conventional outsourcing models and build innovation centers. India has the scientific prowess, low-cost advantage and a fast-developing GCC ecosystem, which gives the country an advantage in being a leader in healthcare innovation. The consequence for global pharma is that by opening GCCs in India, it can gain efficiencies through faster discovery, lower costs and scalable patient-centric solutions – transforming India into the key to the future of the GCC pharmaceutical market.

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Inductus GCC services unlock the future of pharmaceutical innovation. We help global pharmaceutical players to grow big in India by designing compliant and AI-enabled centers, developing world-class talent and governance structures and much more. Be our partner to make your GCC a hub of healthcare innovation and influence in the world.

frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is the Global Delivery Centre (GDC)?

A GDC refers to a single-minded offshore deployment, which provides proficient business, technology and operational services to corporate bodies on a global basis.

What are the most suitable industries with the help of GDCs in India?

BFSI, IT services, healthcare, telecom, retail, manufacturing, and other upcoming technologies, including AI and blockchain.

What can GDCs in India do along with offering cost and labour benefits?

They do not only target cost savings but now aim at innovation, automation, R&D, digital transformation, and high-value consulting.

How are GDCs relevant to digital transformation?

They design and create cloud, artificial intelligence, analytics, cloud security, and process automation.

What talents do the GDCs of India add?

A large supply of STEM graduates, multilingual workers and niche skills in AI, ML, cloud, and analytics.

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Aditi

Aditi, with a strong background in forensic science and biotechnology, brings an innovative scientific perspective to her work. Her expertise spans research, analytics, and strategic advisory in consulting and GCC environments. She has published numerous research papers and articles. A versatile writer in both technical and creative domains, Aditi excels at translating complex subjects into compelling insights. Which she aligns seamlessly with consulting, advisory domain, and GCC operations. Her ability to bridge science, business, and storytelling positions her as a strategic thinker who can drive data-informed decision-making.