How Digital Twins Transform Drug Development Processes

Digital twins enable a move from a slow, trial-anderror approach to a highly predictive, efficient, and data-driven drug discovery process-getting safer, more effective treatments to patients faster than ever before.

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Joydeep Ghosh, Partner, Life Sciences and Healthcare Industry leader, Deloitte India

India, long recognised as the “pharmacy of the world,” has strengthened its position as the largest provider of generic medicines globally, accounting for over 20 per cent of the global supply by volume and contributing to 60 per cent of global vaccine demand.

Over the past two decades, the country has evolved from a manufacturing powerhouse into a thriving pharmaceutical ecosystem, powered by cutting-edge research, biotech startups and a rising wave of digital and data science talent. This strong foundation has recently enabled a major transformation in the country’s pharmaceutical landscape. India’s pharmaceutical sector is entering a new chapter, driven by integrating traditional sciences with emerging technologies such as AI and data analytics.

India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs): A launchpad for next-gen innovation

One of the key accelerators of this transformation has been the rapid growth of GCCs. India accounts for over 55 per cent of the world’s GCCs, benefiting from a unique blend of talent availability, cost competitiveness and supportive policies. In the Life Sciences and Healthcare (LSHC) sector, GCCs employ over 15 per cent of the total Indian GCC workforce. While many of these centres started by handling support functions, they now take on more strategic roles across R&D, drug development, regulatory analytics, commercialisation and post-market surveillance. These pharma innovation hubs are emerging across major Indian cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai. They focus on machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision and other AI techniques to fast-track the traditionally long and expensive drug development processes, clinical trials and regulatory approvals.

Digital twins: A new frontier in drug development