Global Pharma major Novartis has announced the launch of Biome India, a digital innovation hub, in Hyderabad. This is the company’s first such centre in Asia and the fourth globally. The others are in San Francisco, Paris and London.

Novartis already has a huge presence in Hyderabad with its drug development and research facilities. Overall, India is a big hub for the company with 8,000 employees, manufacturing facilities and business services.

Biome India will engage with startups and innovators passionate about healthcare. It will act as a bridge to the external ecosystem, enabling Novartis teams to better discover, develop and drive collaborations that transform innovative initiatives into impactful and scalable solutions for patients.

Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan, the global CEO of Novartis, who received the Genome Valley Excellence Award at the ongoing BioAsia 2020 summit, made the announcement.

By being linked to the four centres and Novartis global, the latest Biome will be able to tap into the assets and expertise of the broader Novartis portfolio to make a greater impact. It will have access to anonymised data, customised residency programmes and personalised mentoring.

“Together, we have a fantastic opportunity to combine our scientific know-how with the expertise of tech players, big and small, to create digital solutions for patients, at scale,” said Bertrand Bodson, Chief Digital Officer, Novartis.

“We want to leverage this ecosystem to work with startups and innovators to disrupt healthcare in the country and perhaps the world,” said Naveen Gullapalli, Head, Novartis Hyderabad.

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