How important is India for Merck’s global operations?

SN: When we began our presence in the country, we focused primarily on the life sciences. It is my vision for Merck’s growth since becoming managing director of the company’s India operations in December 2021 to add healthcare R&D services and improve our IT landscape. We see great opportunity at the intersection of technology and pharma.

Manufacturing for life science business for our global requirements continues to be a focus. Merck Group is investing in ramping up manufacturing in India in our sites in Peenya and Jigani to cater to global business requirements.

DS: Merck offers one of the broadest portfolios in the industry of best-in-class products for pharmaceutical, academic, and industrial research as well as development and manufacturing. We have a fully integrated service organization to support CDMOs and contract testing services across traditional and novel models.

SN: Our vision for Merck’s Healthcare business is clear. Make the maximum impact to patients by discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases. The main therapeutic areas the company focuses on are oncology, fertility, CM&E and N&I. These areas have promising approaches that can tremendously reduce the burden on the healthcare systems, coupled with innovative digital solutions to drastically improve the patient experience throughout, which will impact the overall outcome. Regarding the company's clinical trials, we continue to sustain-dialogue and involvement of the country in all future clinical trials and seek support to ensure that India is always included in global clinical development programs.

How did Covid-19 impact the way medical professionals and the public think about vaccines?

AS: Merck had been collaborating with the leading vaccine manufacturers in India even before the outbreak of Covid-19. We focused on bringing vaccines to the market faster and at affordable prices, and we leveraged our technical support team to help our customers scale up at speed. What the pandemic did was bring awareness to the public about the importance of this type of work and encourage medical professionals and public officials to collaborate on how we can better prepare our communities for the next pandemic.

What role do MNCs play in fostering innovation within India’s life sciences sector?

AS: If you look at the domestic vaccine manufacturers in India, they still largely get their technologies from global players. Yet if you look at the research going on here, there is an incredible focus on innovation backed by support from the government of India to ensure investments are being made to target the right diseases for the Indian population’s needs. For example, there is a vaccine in the pipeline for dengue, which is very prevalent here. MNCs that have a presence in India are able to provide great platforms for the domestic industry to collaborate and exchange knowledge to produce the right medicines, drugs and vaccines.

DS: To launch a new product, phase three is the real challenge because that is where a lot of funding is required. This is an area where collaboration opportunities between MNCs and domestic players is particularly helpful. As part of Merck’s CSR strategy, we are funding a company that is working on a diagnostics kit for five different diseases including Covid-19, chikungunya, dengue, malaria and typhoid.

How is Merck supporting the development of the next generation of scientific leaders?

SN: Merck runs a program that encourages its employees to innovate by supporting them in bringing their ideas to the market through significant financial investments. We also provide scholarships to students and run curiosity labs to generate interest in science amongst young minds to help turn them into the next breakthrough scientists. Importantly, we aim to tap into the talent pool that exists beyond urban areas to help provide opportunities to promising students in more rural areas that traditionally lack the resources and connections to enter the industry.

DS: In India, academia and industry only recently began collaborating. Most academic institutions are still at the basic stage of their research. Covid-19 accelerated a shift towards translational research that can be directly helpful to society. Over the past few years, we have seen more public-private partnership programs to help facilitate this.