PHARMACEUTICALS - GLOBAL PHARMA'S INDIA BET

MNCs MAKE INDIA A HUB FOR HEALTHCARE INNOVATION AND MEDICAL RESEARCH.

- JOE C. MATHEW

A FEW MONTHS AGO, British pharmaceuticals major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) completed 100 years in India. The company, which started as H. J. Foster & Co. Ltd. in 1924, has undergone a series of name changes since then. Foster & Co. became Glaxo Laboratories, then Glaxo India and later GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. In 2022, the global consumer healthcare business was hived off, but GSK remains one of the top pharmaceutical MNCs in India with market-leading products such as Augmentin in anti-infectives, Calpol in pain management, T-Bact in dermatology and paediatric vaccines Infanrix Hexa and Boostrix. “Over the century, we have played an instrumental role in addressing the evolving healthcare needs of India, right from introducing penicillin to life-saving vaccines and essential medicines,” says Bhushan Akshikar, managing director, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. “Today, we can say that we are a company in India, for India, and a key proponent of the ‘Make in India’ story,” he says.

GSK is not alone. U.S.-based Abbott has been in India since 1910, one of the first countries outside the U.S. where it established a presence. “Today, we’re one of the largest healthcare companies in India, offering medicines, nutrition products, medical devices and diagnostic (tools). Our healthcare solutions impact one in six lives in India,” says Ambati Venu, vice president, Abbott India. Germany’s Bayer has been in India for 127 years. U.S.-based Pfizer will soon complete 75 years here. Swiss pharma major Novartis has had a significant footprint in the country since 1947. German Merck established its India office in 1967. Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, a global major in diabetic care, has been supplying insulin in India since 1935; it set up a local subsidiary in 1994. The list is incomplete.