KTR lauds Novartis role, at Davos

Hyderabad: Minister for IT and Industries, KT Rama Rao showcased the role of Novartis which has already placed Hyderabad on a global map in the life sciences sector. He said there cannot be a better endorsement for the ecosystem in Hyderabad.

KTR made these observations during his meeting with Vasant Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer, Novartis on the side lines of World Economic Forum to discuss the growth witnessed by Novartis in Telangana and their expansion plans. Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

The Minister noted that with nearly 9000 associates, Novartis Hyderabad had grown into second largest location for the company, after their headquarters in Basel, based on the headcount. Further, Novartis Capability Centre in Hyderabad is the largest such capability centre by a global pharma major in India.

The growth of Novartis in the city is driven by focus on innovation and the centre has become an important innovation hub for the company, he said. Incidentally, the company had also chosen Hyderabad as the APAC hub for its innovation initiative called Biome with focus on several key new innovative areas like AI, Data & Digital, KTR added.

The company continues to leverage the rich capabilities of Hyderabad in Science, Technology and Innovation ecosystem to drive important activities for the company. The growth of Novartis in Hyderabad serves as the testimony to Hyderabad's growing R&D prowess and extraordinary talent pool. Hyderabad today is serving more than 1000 global innovators in their vision to improve healthcare and Research & Development around the globe.

KTR said, "I am extremely proud that Hyderabad has emerged as the largest global hub for Novartis outside its headquarters. With a massive 9000 people headcount, I am truly impressed with the kind of cutting edge work – be it the data, digital and AI / ML - that happens at the centre.