Pharma GCCs Tap AI to Fast-Track Drug Discovery

They are not just cutting down drug development time, but also the cost involved in it. AI is reshaping how drugs and therapies are developed, reports Avik Das

- Avik Das

Pharmaceutical global capability centers (GCCs) in India are emerging as critical hubs in the global effort to cut drug development timelines and costs, thanks to the accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI).

From early-stage discovery to clinical trial optimization and regulatory processes, GCCs are co-creating AI solutions that are reshaping how drugs and therapies are developed.

"The process of ideation to getting a medicine in a patient's hand is a 10- to 14-year process, but with artificial intelligence (AI), it will be reduced by 50 percent. We should be able to see a higher success rate," said Naveen Gullapalli, managing director of Amgen India, at a Nasscom event in April.

GCCs are deploying AI tools to accelerate molecule identification, optimize clinical trials, and build data-driven platforms for personalized medicine. The goal: faster, more precise, and cost-effective drug development, with billions in savings across the pharma value chain.

Generative models are now simulating billions of compounds, optimizing for efficacy and safety, and cutting early-phase R&D timelines by up to 70 percent. GCCs in India are co-developing these platforms and increasingly co-owning IP around molecular design and biomarker discovery.

Beyond discovery, GCCs are integrating genomic, phenotypic, and real-world data to build pharmacogenomic models, accelerating personalized medicine pipelines. Clinical decision support tools built out of India are improving diagnostics across oncology, neurology, and beyond.