“If I think of my well-functioning development machine as let’s say a V12 engine with 12 cylinders, cylinders four, five, six and seven and at different times eight are in Hyderabad.”
Novartis Development Head On The India Hub, AI And Not Doing ‘Me Too’ Stuff In Obesity
Novartis president, development and chief medical officer talks about the pivotal role of the development India hub in progressing breakthrough drugs, how AI is delivering gains in the trials arena, driving focus in the R&D engine and the Swiss group’s approach in the obesity space.

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Heads of Novartis Biomedical, World Economic Forum and Indian majors like Sun Pharma’s SPARC, among others, discuss generative AI in drug discovery along with pointers for India to leapfrog the R&D process
Lilly’s Mounjaro arrives in India, with the 2.5mg vial priced at under $41 in a market that has over 100 million diabetics and increasing obesity rates. Will the product see sharp demand like in China, carving out a chunk of the pie ahead of the potential arrival of semaglutide generics and could there be concerns of ‘suitcase' exports?
Professor Anil Koul shares vignettes of his life and career trajectory, a captivating mix of hope, science and destiny that took him to the lab of eminent cancer biologist Alex Ullrich at the Max Planck Institute and also saw him contribute to the development of breakthrough TB drug bedaquiline. He also talks about Medicine 3.0 and the intersection of science and spirituality.
Miltenyi’s leadership calls for a streamlined regulatory framework as India gears to scale in cell and gene therapy. Executives from the German group also talked to Scrip about helping advance local capabilities, delivering point-of-care CAR- T cell therapy to hospitals and pricing dynamics.
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Kyoto-based venture moves HQ to California to expand R&D and business outreach for its regulatory T-cell technology, as it raises around $46m in public and private funding.
The FOCUS study met its primary and key secondary endpoints, but lack of statistical significance on the higher dose and a crowded market raised questions.
The US FDA approved Blujepa for the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections, marking the first new mechanism of action for the infection in more than 30 years.