Bristol-Myers Squibb has decided to set up a science and technology innovation centre with an investment of $100 million in Hyderabad to expand its global drug development and digital innovation capabilities.
This will be the biopharmaceutical major’s first such facility in India and help develop capabilities in several areas associated with drug development, from regulatory, biostatistics, operations to clinical sciences, Executive V-P and Chief Medical Officer, Global Drug Development, Samit Hirawat said while a MoU was signed with the Telangana government in the presence of Industries and IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao in Hyderabad on Thursday, February 23.
“As we think about our global presence one of the missing pieces is to be in India, where there is a burgeoning ecosystem from a healthcare perspective, amazing talent,” he said, adding that there there has been an amazing transformation in Hyderabad’s landscape over the last 4-5 years. “When we brought the team here in January and went back, there was no question in our mind on the place to be,” he added.
To invest $100 million over the next 3 years
BMS plans to begin operations of the facility by 2023, which will employ around 1,500 people. On the investment, he said it will $100 million over the next three years. While BMS has a commercial presence and also operates in association with other companies in the country, with the centre it will be marking its presence from a drug development perspective in India, he said.
Elaborating on the proposed work, Dr. Hirawat said the 1,500 people, to be hired over the next three years, will be a diverse set of talent pool ranging from specialisation in information technology, medical writing, regulatory process and statistical programmers, operations besides physicians. The facility, which is likely to be named Science and Technology Innovation Centre, “will help our global drug development process as well as IT processes,” he said, adding over time it can evolve into many functions.
On the location in Hyderabad, he said the process is underway and expected to be completed by third quarter of the year.
Welcoming BMS to the vibrant Life Sciences ecosystem of the city, the Minister urged the company to explore the prospects of setting up a manufacturing facility. The State government is in the process of setting up Hyderabad Pharma City, which will be one of the largest pharma clusters globally, Mr. Rao said.
