CHENNAI: Out of the top 50 life sciences companies globally, 23 have set up Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India, with majority of them establishing it in the past five years, said an EY India report on Monday.
The report, Reimagining Life Sciences Global Capability Centers (GCCs), highlights India’s growing role in driving pharmaceutical research, innovation, and end-to-end value creation.
The EY report finds that life sciences GCCs have rapidly evolved from traditional back-office roles into strategic innovation engines. EY analysis also shows that penetration across both enabling and core functions has accelerated sharply in the last five years.
On the enabling side, lifesciences GCCs in India now handle 70% of finance, 75% of HR, 62% of supply chain, and 67% of IT functions for their global life sciences firms.
The country has emerged as a hub for global life sciences GCCs because of policy support, talent advantage, ecosystem maturity and infrastructure edge.
According to the report, India has over 2.7 million professionals in life sciences industry, with a steady annual pipeline of 2 million STEM graduates and more than 110,000 medical graduates.
Arindam Sen, Partner and GCC Sector Lead – Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications, EY India said, “Our analysis highlights how India has rapidly evolved from a support base to the very center of innovation for global pharma and healthcare. In just five years, GCC penetration in enabling functions like finance, HR, supply chain, and IT has crossed ~60%. But what truly stands out is the deepening role in core functions – from drug discovery and regulatory affairs to medical and commercial operations. This isn’t about cost arbitrage anymore, it’s about India becoming indispensable to the global R&D pipeline.
Lifesciences multinationals are embedding their most strategic, knowledge-intensive work here, making India the epicentre for life sciences
innovation, compliance, and future growth.”