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Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company known for its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, is scaling up its operations in India to meet rising global demand. The company plans to double its senior leadership team in India and increase its total workforce by 16%, bringing its headcount to 5,000 by next year. This move underscores India’s growing importance in the global pharmaceutical landscape, offering cost-effective operations and a flourishing ecosystem of AI start-ups.
In a strategic push, Novo Nordisk is partnering with local AI firms to streamline various functions such as document summarization and insight extraction. These collaborations aim to improve efficiency, with AI tools reducing the time required for regulatory submissions from 40 hours to just 40 minutes, according to John Dawber, Novo Nordisk’s managing director for global business services. The company already uses these AI solutions across its global operations.
India has been a key location for Novo Nordisk for 17 years, particularly its Bengaluru operations, which handle vast amounts of data related to drug safety and efficacy. This includes monitoring clinical trials and tracking reports of side effects. Dawber foresees the Bengaluru center becoming a near mirror image of the company’s headquarters in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, within the next three years, playing a pivotal role in research and development.
Novo Nordisk’s expansion aligns with a broader trend of pharmaceutical giants betting big on India. Companies like Sanofi and Bristol Myers Squibb are also increasing their investments in the country, recognizing the potential for AI and digital technologies to enhance drug development.
A Competitive Landscape
The rising global profile of Wegovy, along with its diabetes counterpart Ozempic, has boosted Novo Nordisk’s standing. Half of the company’s global safety assessment work, which includes monitoring drug side effects and submitting reports to health regulators, is already handled by its India-based team. In addition, the team contributes to key processes like safety update reports and risk management plans.
While Novo Nordisk did not disclose the financial details of its expansion or AI partnerships, it confirmed that it is open to further collaborations with Indian start-ups.
As Novo Nordisk and rivals like Eli Lilly race to capture the burgeoning global weight-loss market, which analysts predict could hit $150 billion in the next decade, the company’s Indian operations are set to play a crucial role in driving innovation and maintaining competitiveness.
