Novartis to up Hyd headcount

Swiss-based multinational pharmaceutical company, Novartis, is planning to ramp up the manpower at its Hyderabad centre to 1,000 people from the present 300 in the next 18 months even as it has withheld R&D plans owing to its reservations about the Indian patent law.

The Hyderabad centre is mainly responsible for data mining, data warehousing and related processes.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Novartis India vice-chairman and managing director Ranjit Shahni said the company was still weighing options for starting R&D activities in India as they were apprehensive about the Indian patent law.

"We do not have any plans to set up an R&D centre in India. In fact, no global company will consider this as a right move as Indian patent laws are not WTO-compliant," he said while stating that the headcount for the present operations in Hyderabad would be increased more than three-fold.

Shahni, who is in the city to take part in the International Leprosy Congress to be held from January 30 to February 4, said Novartis' multi-drug therapy had helped cure about 4.5 million leprosy patients in the past seven years with donations amounting to $37 million.

The company also invests in TB, malaria and cancer eradication programmes.