US pharma major Eli Lilly to set up GCC in Hyd

Hyderabad: The queue of global pharma giants wanting to make Hyderabad their new home for drug discovery and tech centres is growing longer. After pharma and biopharma biggies such as Amgen, Sanofi, Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Zoetis, the city is now learnt to be on the radar of pharma giants such as Eli Lilly, GSK, and Merck.TOI has learnt that the US-headquartered Eli Lilly, which has a market capitalisation of over $734 billion, has already zeroed in on a facility in the heart of Hyderabad's IT hub, a stone's throw from IKEA. The global development centre (GDC) is expected to become operational by mid-2025, sources indicated. The American drug giant acquired about 2.5 lakh sq ft to 2.75 lakh sq ft of space spanning over one floor at Phoenix Equinox, where it will accommodate over 2,500 people, realty sources said. However, TOI could not get a confirmation on the development from the company at the time of going to press.Buzz about Eli Lilly's plans to set up shop in Hyderabad, which has emerged as a key global capability centres (GCC) hub for the life sciences sector, comes almost a year after Eli Lilly's global CEO David Ricks visited Hyderabad. He had delivered the keynote address at the BioAsia 2024 conclave, where he also held a meeting with Telangana industries & IT minister D Sridhar Babu. Realty sources said while players like GSK were scouting the Hyderabad market for viable options, Amgen has already acquired 6 lakh sq ft at RMZ Nexity and is scouting for more space in the city in locations such as Genome Valley.Apart from pharma and biopharma giants, Hyderabad has also seen healthcare and medtech players such as Cigna's Evernorth, HCA Healthcare, Providence, Medtronic, and Olympus Corporation set up some of their largest GCCs and global innovation centres. Telangana's lifesciences sector bagged investments worth more than Rs 36,000 crore in 2024 with 13 GCCs deciding to set up shop in the state.