"Expect further innovation in cancer therapies"

Praveen Rao Akkinepally, Country President and Managing Director, AstraZeneca Pharma India, on new launches, India's expanding role in the global innovation pipeline, and more

- BY NEETU CHANDRA SHARMA

Global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is strengthening focus on areas such as oncology, cardiovascular, renal, rare diseases, and the emerging GLP-1 segment.

In September, it announced its third tranche of investment in the country over the past two years. Praveen Rao Akkinepally, Country President and Managing Director, AstraZeneca Pharma India, spoke exclusively to Business Today about the policy environment, the company's priorities, and how India fits into its long-term global plans. Edited excerpts:

Q: How do you see AstraZeneca growing in India over the next three to five years?

A: At AstraZeneca, our mission is to push the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines, and this mission guides everything we do. In India, we see a lot of unmet needs across disease areas that we are already addressing through our existing portfolio. We aim to continue doing so.

Our interest is in addressing those unmet needs, and scientific innovation gives us the confidence to do that. We anticipate being able to bring more innovative, lifesaving medicines and indications for patients in India, whether it is oncology, cardiovascular disease, or respiratory conditions. We expect to transform patient outcomes across these therapy areas and expand our reach to serve more patients.

Q: You mentioned oncology. Can you share some innovations specific to India?

A: Our vision is to cure cancer and eliminate it as a cause of death. We are deeply committed because there is tremendous innovation happening in oncology. For example, in immuno-oncology—where the power of the body's immune system is harnessed to fight cancer—we already have a strong presence. We expect further innovation in this field.

India has significant disease prevalence across major cancers such as lung, breast, and gastrointestinal.