Novo Nordisk and Merck and Co are giving out positive indications with regard to expansion plans in India.
Novo Nordisk is motivated by the fact that its status as a leader in the diabetes field will be cemented if it can effectively tap into the Indian market as around 40 million people are suffering from diabetes in India. They have also expressed interest in new drug discovery and manufacturing partnerships. One manifestation of this interest can be witnessed in their association with Ahmedabad based manufacturer Torrent Pharma. Novo Nordisk also has plans to majorly expand its clinical trial operations over the next few years along with firther outsourcing and offshoring of its data management and financial service requirements.
Novo Nordisk is also planning to shift all its data management from the Asia Pacific (excluding Japan), Africa and Latin America shift to its office in Bangalore.
Merck and Co is looking to engage in more research collaborations with Indian and other life sciences companies and academic institutes across Asia over the coming 12-18 months in order to reduce both costs and time involved with drug discovery, especially at the Phase I and clinical trial stages, according to Indian media reports.
The firm is said to be particularly interested in soliciting research collaborations in India in the therapeutic diseases area including oncology, metabolic disorders, diabetes, and neurological disorders.It is apparent that Merck has already begun to make inroads on its India plans.
So far it is involved in research alliances with Nicholas Piramal, Advinus, as well as the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (Niper) and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in a bid to boost the number of chemistry graduates.
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