'India now offers intellectual arbitrage to firms' | Economic Times

Syngene International, the innovation-led contract research and manufacturing arm of Biocon, is seeing a shift in clientele with a large number of small and newly founded startups from the West partnering with the company to research new treatments and medicines, said CEO and managing director Jonathan Hunt.“What India offers now in the biopharma sector is not cost arbitrage but intellectual arbitrage, and the trend is reflected across the industry,” Hunt told ET.The Bengaluru-based company last week reported a 33.27% year-on-year increase in its consolidated net profit for the quarter to June to Rs 77.3 crore, led by progress across all business divisions and particularly boosted by the manufacturing of remedesivir drug used to treat Covid-19 patients.“Clients are more interested in integrated services than ever before. But it is not just about the cost. It has got to do with the speed and capabilities of companies like Syngene,” said Hunt. “Services we offer today are world-class, scientifically smart and add value because of our innovations.”Small startups that have become marginal clients of the biopharma industry want to take science forward but without investing in building a large organisation, said Hunt. “These firms look at large companies like us to offer them scale, high quality systems and processes and innovative ideas. We are seeing real growth coming from these smaller biotech companies,” he said.Syngene International, however, continues to share good business partnership with biopharma and biotech firms such as Bristol Myers Squibb and Amgen that have been its traditional customers. “We have got a high retention rate, an indication that we are getting something right,” said the managing director.The growth in India’s biopharma sector has also opened up immense opportunities to young scientists who were earlier forced to take a job in the US or Europe. “A young scientist joining a company like Syngene can travel the world scientifically without ever having to leave Bengaluru. It provides opportunities to collaborate with some of the best scientists in the world by working out of the campus here,” said Hunt.The company has been tapping into the talent pool from Indian universities and hugely investing in their training and development. “We are probably one of the largest recruiters of young scientists in India, and I am incredibly proud of that,” said Hunt.Syngene International has also been working on relationship building activities with key universities to bring best young scientific minds on board.Although just a small portion of its business comes from non-medical clients from sectors such as aerospace, cosmetics, animal health and nutrition, the company is looking at these segments to grow. “For now, the business from non-medical clients is in single digits. But we are looking at good opportunities in animal health because of its similarities to human health,” said Hunt.