According to reports, Japanese biopharmaceutical company Takeda Launches its first Asian Innovation Capability Centre (ICC) in Bengaluru.

This centre intends to hire 750 employees by the end of the year, with roles centered on AI specialists, software engineers, data scientists, and cyber security experts. At the time of the announcement, the company had already hired 275 employees.

During a press conference, Takeda executives said that Bengaluru was chosen for its rich talent pool and will host the flagship Innovation Capability Centre (ICC), complementing existing centers in Slovakia and Mexico.

“Tapping into local talent is vital in our quest to create better health for people and a brighter future for the communities we serve. Investing in India’s remarkable talent and technological expertise underscores Takeda’s commitment to leveraging local expertise to deliver innovative, data-driven solutions and sustainable growth,” says Gabriele Ricci, Chief Data and Technology Officer at Takeda.

The 243-year-old pharma major has been in India for the past 13 years, with a commercial office in Delhi hosting 150 to 200 people.

The Bengaluru ICC will focus on advancing Takeda’s technology to drive innovation. It will concentrate on AI and Generative AI for improved healthcare efficiency, device engineering and application virtualization for product development, and data science and visualization to support data-driven decisions for better patient outcomes.

The talent hired for the Bengaluru center will largely support the digital capabilities of the Takeda Group.

“We are focused on building and strengthening our internal data, and digital capabilities that support the entire value chain across the business. And this centre will be focused more on building, delivering data and digital solutions which may benefit other parts of our business as well,” says Sanjay Patel, Global Head of Innovation Capability Solutions & Services, Takeda.

Takeda’s Bengaluru centre is already supporting one of the key business units globally: plasma-derived therapy. Work here is reportedly helping build and implement systems for managing donor information and donor registration at plasma collection centres. These systems are used in North America and parts of Europe to facilitate the registration process when plasma donors arrive at the centres.

“The ICC here will have a significant impact on things that we do for Takeda and how we scale our solutions globally,” adds Tilak Banerjee, Head of Takeda ICC India.

In FY23, Takeda reported revenues of USD 28.2 billion and invested USD 4.8 billion in research and development (R&D). The company also maintains over 180 R&D partnerships globally.