With its latest expansion, ZS is placing a decisive bet on India’s role as the global engine room for life sciences. The firm is scaling talent, deepening its footprint and aligning to the next decade of pharma transformation that will increasingly be driven from India.
India’s pharmaceutical story is entering a breakout phase. What began with India becoming the “pharmacy of the world” is now transforming into something deeper — a high-value, innovation-led ecosystem powered by biotech upgrades, digital health capabilities and a fast-growing network of Global Capability Centres (GCCs).
India Moves Up the Value Chain
As highlighted in earlier MedicinMan coverage, India’s rise is structural and long overdue.
“The India footprint has steadily climbed the value ladder: from CDMOs to CROs, then FDA-approved plants, and now Global Capability Centres (GCCs) that run on data, science and strategy.”
— MedicinMan, “Pharma GCCs – What Used to Happen in Boston or Basel Now Happens in Bangalore”
And the biotech transformation is equally significant. In our deep dive on Genome Valley, we noted:
“This is infrastructure of the kind that powers next-generation biologics worldwide.”
— MedicinMan, “Genome Valley: A Signal of Transformation in Indian Pharma”
The big picture is clear: India is shifting from being a generics powerhouse to becoming a global hub for advanced biologics, digital platforms and data-driven decision-making.
Pharma GCCs: India’s New Strategic Infrastructure
Today, India hosts GCCs for leading multinational pharma companies including Sanofi, Amgen, Eli Lilly, J&J, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GSK, AbbVie and Bayer.
Cities such as Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai–Pune, Chennai and NCR now house more than 80 life sciences GCCs employing over 70,000 professionals. These centres are no longer back offices. They operate as end-to-end value engines running:
- Commercial and medical analytics
- Real-world evidence (RWE) and HEOR
- Digital health and AI platforms
- Market access and scientific operations
- Safety, compliance and pharmacovigilance
- Clinical data and biomarker analytics
ZS Expands to Power GCC 2.0
ZS, one of the most influential global partners to the pharma industry, is stepping up its India commitment to support this evolution.
The company now has 70% of its global workforce based in India. Its new Hyderabad office is scaling rapidly, aligned to the city’s emergence as India’s life sciences capital.
In a conversation with Fortune India, ZS CEO Pratap Khedkar explained the shift clearly:
“About half of the global pharma companies have GCCs in India now. We’ve been working closely with them… to design their strategy, set up operating models, and help them decide which capabilities transition first and which later.”
— Pratap Khedkar, ZS (Fortune India)
Of the 3,800 people ZS hired globally in 2025, the majority were recruited in India — a strong indicator of where the firm sees future growth.
ZS Supports GCCs Across the Growth Cycle
1. Operating Model Architecture
GCCs need clarity on structures, sequencing and integration. ZS brings frameworks that help centres launch and scale cleanly.
2. Capability Transition and Buildout
ZS helps migrate and operationalize analytics, AI, medical, digital and scientific operations — creating mature, globally aligned capability stacks.
3. Continuous GCC Maturity Uplift
As GCCs evolve, ZS supports automation, platformisation, digital-first operations and innovation-led roles.
Why ZS’ Expansion Matters for India
India’s biotech and digital ecosystem is accelerating in parallel. Bharat Biotech’s launch of Nucelion Therapeutics, a dedicated cell and gene therapy CRDMO in Genome Valley, is a powerful example of India’s next leap.
This combination — advanced biotech infrastructure + high-value GCCs — is unlocking a new strategic position for India in the global life sciences map.
India is no longer a supporting node. It is becoming an integrated innovation and decision hub.
Bottom Line: India Is Authoring the Future of Global Pharma
The rise of GCCs, the maturation of biotech clusters, the deepening of digital and data capabilities, and the expansion of firms like ZS all point to the same conclusion:
India is not just rising — it has arrived.
The world’s pharma strategy, analytics backbone and innovation pipeline are increasingly being shaped in India’s cities. ZS’ latest expansion underscores this shift and signals the next phase of growth where India’s pharma ecosystem becomes central to global value creation.
Sources & References
- MedicinMan (2025, October)
Pharma GCCs – What Used to Happen in Boston or Basel Now Happens in Bangalore
https://medicinman.net/2025/10/pharma-gccs-what-used-to-happen-in-boston-or-basel-now-happens-in-bangalore/ - MedicinMan (2025, November)
Genome Valley: A Signal of Transformation in Indian Pharma
https://medicinman.net/2025/11/genome-valley-a-signal-of-transformation-in-indian-pharma/ - Fortune India (2025)
Interview with Pratap Khedkar, CEO, ZS
“ZS expands India operations to serve life sciences GCCs” - MedicinMan internal infographic: Pharma GCCs in India, 2025
All Images are AI Generated for Illustration Only. E&OE
