Sanofi is looking to bulk up its workforce at its global capacity center in Hyderabad, India, with a multi-year investment totaling 400 million euros ($437 million), according to reports.
The investment will stretch through the end of the decade, with the first chunk of 100 million euros ($109 million) coming by next year, The Hindu reports.
The facility currently employs around 1,000 people, according to reports. By growing to 2,600-strong over the next two years, the site stands to become the largest of Sanofi’s four global capacity hubs, Sanofi's executive vice president of business operations, Madeleine Roach, said at a press conference, according to The Deccan Herald.
The company's four global capacity centers are located in Budapest, Hungary, Bogota, Columbia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Hyderabad.
In India, the company is “resetting the footprint” and leveling up its “value accretive activities,” chief digital officer Emmanuel Frenehard noted, according to the Financial Express. The expansion will grow the site’s digital team and utilize artificial intelligence tools.
Sanofi employs around 5,000 staffers throughout India, according to the company’s country-specific website. It has been a “partner” in the country for over 60 years, producing billions of tablets annually. While many drugmakers boast Indian outfits, Sanofi is “one of the few healthcare companies in India with an established large-scale manufacturing presence” in the country, the company says.
Earlier this year, the company signed several deals to boost the reach of its central nervous system (CNS) drugs and vaccines in South and East Asia. As far as India goes, Sanofi linked up with Cipla to allow the manufacturer to market six of its CNS meds, including leading epilepsy med Frisium, in the country.
Around the same time, the French drugmaker also made a vaccine distribution pact with India’s Dr. Reddy’s concerning adult and pediatric shots.