Nov 10 2025
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Pharma GCC Setup: A Strategic Feasibility Framework for Location and Talent Decisions
The pharma industry has seen a wave of change over the decades, driven by digital innovation, data analytics & global collaboration. A major catalyst behind this change has been the rise of Global Capability Centers (GCCs), strategic hubs designed to consolidate talent, technology, and operational excellence under one umbrella.
Once seen as cost-saving back offices, GGCs have now evolved into powerhouses of innovation, supporting critical functions across R&D, regulatory, supply chain, and commercial operations. For global pharma and biopharma companies, GCCs are not just extensions of headquarters, but are the engines that power digital transformation and operational agility.
The Evolving GCC Landscape in Pharma:
Major pharmaceutical giants such as Novartis, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GSK, and Roche have expanded their GCCs in destinations like India, Poland, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Mexico.
These centers play a critical role across a wide range of functions:
- Business strategy and Commercial excellence
- Clinical trials management services
- Real-world data generation and Analytics
- Safety and Regulatory Operations
- Digital transformation and IT support
- Finance, HR, and Procurement services
- Manufacturing and Supply Chain
The shift reflects a fundamental evolution of the full-proof GCCs model, where these profit centers are no longer referred to as back-office, but rather as strategic partners that co-own business outcomes in the global pharma across the value chain.
What Drives Pharma Companies to Establish GCCs?
Several industry dynamics are fueling this paradigm shift:
- Access to Specialized Talent: Emerging markets, especially India, provide a large, young, and energetic pool of talent that combines life sciences, data science, and digital skills
- Digital Transformation Imperatives: As the pharmaceutical industry moves toward automation, AI, and retrospective evidence-based decision-making, GCCs play a critical role in shaping these initiatives worldwide.
- Operational Agility and Scalability: GCCs accelerate decision-making, streamline workflows, cost savings, and ensure business continuity across various regions.
- Cost Efficiency and Value Creation: While cost optimization remains relevant, the focus has shifted toward value creation through capability development.
- Innovation and Experimentation Hubs: Many GCCs now serve as incubators and testing grounds for new tech-led initiatives before they are rolled out globally.
GCC Setup Feasibility: Assessing Geography and Demographics:
Before setting up a GCC, pharma companies must conduct a due diligence study to identify the strategic location. The decision extends beyond cost; it’s about access to the right talent, regulatory environment, infrastructure, and scalability. A thorough feasibility study maps both the geographic and demographic dimensions, along with risk, cost, and capability maturity.
Geographic Feasibility
- Talent pool and matching skillsets: A successful GCC depends on a workforce that truly understands the full spectrum of the life sciences value chain from R&D and clinical trials to regulatory affairs, manufacturing, packaging, and supply chain management. Beyond domain knowledge, what really sets leading locations apart is their pool of globally exposed professionals skilled in IT infrastructure, data analytics, data science, and digital health. This combination drives real operational excellence.
For example, India and Poland lead due to their mature pharma and data ecosystems supported by a strong STEM education base. - Cost & Infrastructure: When assessing potential locations, it’s essential to weigh both operational costs and infrastructure readiness. Tier 1 cities may have a deep talent pool, but higher expenses, while emerging Tier 2 hubs such as Pune, Hyderabad, Krakow, and Kuala Lumpur strike a more practical balance, offering solid infrastructure, growing talent availability, and greater cost efficiency, making them increasingly attractive for scalable operations.
- Regulatory and Compliance Environment: Pharma GCCs handle sensitive clinical and patient data, and hence, data protection frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA equivalents) and local IP security standards must align with global policies.
- Geopolitical Stability for continuous business: While selecting a location, it’s critical to assess the risk factors such as political stability, probability of natural disasters, and possible cybersecurity threats that can directly impact operations. To stay resilient, many global companies now spread their operations across multiple regions, adopting a multi-hub setup that helps them manage disruptions more effectively.
- Time Zone and Connectivity: Time zone overlap can make collaboration a lot smoother, especially when teams need to work closely across continents. For instance, the Europe–India time alignment allows for communication without major delays. With time zone alignment, if there is a strong flight connectivity and dependable telecom networks, it would be an environment where global coordination is seamless.
Demographic Feasibility
- Workforce Demographics: Understanding who makes up the local workforce is key: their age mix, education levels, and employability in relevant fields all shape how well a GCC can perform. Younger, tech-savvy professionals, like those in India or Malaysia, tend to adapt faster to automation, analytics, and agile ways of working.
- Education and Research Ecosystem: Proximity to universities, pharma clusters, and research institutions naturally create a more collaborative environment. Cities like Hyderabad, Warsaw, and Singapore have built their advantage around these academic–industry connections, which help drive continuous innovation.
- Quality of Life and Talent Retention: A GCC must not just acquire the right talent but also retain it. Living standards, safety, healthcare, and social infrastructure, all these factors influence how attractive a location is for a long term career. A good quality of life often translates into stronger retention.
- Language and Cultural Compatibility: Smooth collaboration depends a lot on communication. Regions with high English proficiency and culturally adaptable talent make it easier to work across borders and integrate into global operations.
Additional Feasibility Dimensions
- Digital Maturity Index: It’s important to look at how digitally ready a location is, whether it has strong internet connectivity, reliable tech infrastructure, and local service providers who can support advanced digital operations.
- Ecosystem Partnerships: The strength of the local business ecosystem also matters. Easy access to vendors, consulting firms, and technology partners can make setting up and scaling much smoother.
- Government Support and Incentives: Policies and programs can often tip the balance. Tax breaks, SEZ benefits, or state-led incentive schemes can make certain regions far more attractive for long-term investment and growth.
Example: Currently, India caters to over 40% of the global GCCs, with the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors being among the fastest-growing. The combination of deep domain expertise, cost efficiency, English fluency, and supportive government policies has made cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Pune preferred destinations for establishing pharma and biotech companies, GCCs focused on clinical, regulatory, and analytics innovation.
The Road Ahead:
As the industry pivots toward personalized medicine, RWE research, and digitally connected ecosystems, GCCs will play a central role in operationalizing this at scale. The next phase of GCC evolution will see a reposition from execution to orchestration, taking end-to-end ownership of business outcomes.
Progressive pharma organizations are already utilizing their GCCs as strategic growth accelerators, capable of shaping enterprise-level evolution and driving sustainable competitive advantage.