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India's 500+ pharma GCCs signal paradigm shift in global drug discovery landscape
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Nandita Vijayasimha, Bengaluru
July 14 , 2025
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India is using its technology edge with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to bolster its pharma global capability centres (GCCs) growth. This paradigm shift positions India as an indispensable partner in the global pharmaceutical R&D ecosystem by offering a combination of operational efficiency, innovation, and scalable talent.
According to Sudeep Krishna, co-founder and president, Healthark Insights, India is emerging as a strategic innovation hub for global pharma, with over 500+ AI/ML-enabled GCCs driving research, drug discovery, and digital health. Cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai host 85% of these centres positioning India not just as a cost hub, but as a key player in shaping the future of healthcare through AI-powered innovation.
The pharmaceutical industry faces structural and operational challenges that hinder innovation and efficiency. Drug development is lengthy and costly, often taking 15–16 years, with clinical trials consuming nearly 80% of R&D spend. On the manufacturing side, companies grapple with frequent downtime, manual quality checks, and fragmented data systems reducing throughput and increasing compliance risks.
Data silos across Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems hinder real-time visibility and decision-making. Regulatory pressure continues to rise, with frameworks like Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 11(21 CFR Part 11), Annex 11, and Attributable, Legible, Contemporaneous, Original, and Accurate (ALCOA+) requiring strict documentation and audit readiness. Meanwhile, patient targeting remains suboptimal due to the inability to extract insights from large volumes of genomic and EHR data. Many of these critical issues can be addressed through AI/ML solutions that enhance speed, accuracy, and decision-making across the value chain, he added.
This is where AI Applications in Indian GCCs for QA & QC, clinical trial design and monitoring, pharmaceutical manufacturing, pharmaceutical product development, drug design and drug screening offers the speed and digital readiness to drive next-generation healthcare breakthroughs, said Krishna.
“Our healthcare GCCs are evolving fast, driven by AI and ML integration. Over 90% of top-performing GCCs have expanded AI centres of excellence within the past 18 months. Today, 66% of healthcare firms and 50% of pharma companies are actively piloting GenAI, with 25% already running in production GCC-driven AI initiatives from clinical decision support to supply chain optimization. This has reduced costs by 20–40%, automated clinical documentation and coding, and enabled real-world analytics,” he noted.
The healthcare GCC ecosystem is rapidly evolving from AI adopters to global leaders. With 90% of top GCCs embedding AI-led Centres of Excellence and generative AI expected to boost pharma productivity by 40% by 2030. India is transforming clinical operations, R&D, and supply chains. Supported by government, talent, and public–private collaboration, India is a key hub for AI-driven healthcare innovation.
Moreover, India’s cost advantage enables healthcare GCCs to scale AI-driven innovation more efficiently, with operating costs up to 40% lower than global hubs like London and Berlin.. Moreover, availability of over 1.5 million engineering graduates annually, many skilled in AI and data science is fuelling an affordable talent pool, said Krishna.
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TOPICS
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