BS People: Sameer Savkur

Biogen gets a new md

For Sameer Savkur, the newly appointed managing director of the Indian arm of US based drug firm Biogen, the change in career also meant moving out of a business that tracked the sales of the entire medicine spectrum to the marketing and sales of a handful of niche products.

After steering the Indian subsidiary of market research firm IMS Health Information and Consulting Services which tracks medicine prices of thousands of companies through retail sales audits, Savkur will now look after the domestic sales and drug development activities of Biogen Idec, a company that develop, manufacture and market therapies for neurology, immunology and haemophilia.

The $ 4 billion biotech firm is amongst the pioneering biotechnology companies in the world and is known for its multiple sclerosis therapies.

In his two decades of professional experience, Savkur has served global brands such as Eli Lilly and Pfizer before joining IMS and now Biogen. He has also worked in Wipro early in his career. “I am excited to join the team of Biogen Idec, a company with a long-standing history in the biotechnology industry, and a leader in researching and developing multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies for patients around the world,” said Savkur. “A strong pipeline of new medicines underlies our determination and commitment to continue delivering innovative medicines. Our Clinical trials include many compounds with the potential to be either first-in-class or best-in-class molecules.”, he added.

Biogen Idec started its operations in India in 2007 and is actively engaged in clinical research in India.