Building global pharma at scale: How Sanofi’s Hyderabad hub is driving digital transformation
How Sanofi's Hyderabad hub transforms pharmaceutical R&D through AI-driven innovation and specialized talent
In this exclusive authored piece for YourStory’s latest report titled ‘Building Tomorrow’s GCCs', Mrinal Duggal, the Head of Sanofi GCC (Hyderabad), shares insights on how the company's purpose-built hub is driving AI-powered pharmaceutical innovation and scaling digital transformation across global operations.
At Sanofi, we don’t look at our global hubs through the traditional lens of shared services or back-office support. Instead, we see them as concentrated centers of specialized capability, designed to accelerate outcomes, embed digital thinking, and scale innovation globally.
Our Hyderabad hub is a clear example of this approach: purpose-built to integrate domain expertise with advanced digital tools and a strong focus on patient impact.
Established in 2019, our hub in Hyderabad has grown exponentially. What began as a medical hub has now scaled into a global powerhouse supporting multiple functions across Sanofi’s value chain. Today, we provide best-in-class services across finance, procurement, HR, medical, and digital operations. Our hubs, spread across Hyderabad, Budapest, Bogotá, and Kuala Lumpur, are global centers of expertise designed to scale best practices, enhance operational capabilities, and accelerate impact.
India, and specifically Hyderabad, plays a critical role in this ambition. While Hyderabad is a Tier I city, our hiring strategy draws deeply from Tier II and III cities. We’ve found exceptional talent from across the country, and we’re integrating this diverse expertise to drive Sanofi’s digital transformation and global competitiveness.
Building a talent-first innovation engine
We focus on three critical categories of talent that are powering Sanofi’s AI-driven pharmaceutical innovation
- Technical expertise is our foundation. We hire data scientists specializing in machine learning for drug discovery, computational biologists to interpret complex genomics data, and full-stack developers building scalable cloud based AI platforms.
- Domain knowledge is our differentiator. We look for pharmaceutical scientists with deep drug design experience and clinical trial experts who can optimize study designs using simulation and real-world evidence.
- Cross-functional capabilities enable execution. Our teams excel at integrating complex data across systems and applying agile development cycles that convert AI insights into real-world therapeutic solutions.
This talent architecture allows us to reimagine pharmaceutical R&D and accelerate patient impact on a global scale.
Designed for scale, built for the future
Our workplace in Hyderabad’s Hitec City is designed to reflect our values—sustainability, inclusion, and innovation. It’s a state-of-the-art environment, purpose-built to support high-performance teams and house specialized digital and scientific functions. We’ve invested in a leased office that is future-ready, and have announced a $430 million investment over the next six years to fuel further expansion of our Hyderabad hub. This signals not just our commitment to India, but our belief in the deep capabilities this market brings to the table.
The rise of Tier II GCCs
While we are anchored in Hyderabad, we see immense promise in India’s Tier II and III cities. Over the next 3-5 years, I believe these cities will play a defining role in shaping the future of global innovation. These emerging hubs can act as a bridge between India’s rich talent ecosystems and the evolving global needs of multinational corporations.
They won’t just complement Tier I centers; they will extend and deepen them. With focused delivery models, untapped talent pools, and growing infrastructure support, Tier II cities are well-positioned to become highly capable, innovation-led GCC destinations.
A message to global GCC leaders
If I had one message for global leaders evaluating India’s next wave of GCC opportunities, it would be this: don’t limit your vision to metros alone.
Tier II and III cities in India are no longer just about cost advantage but about long-term value. These locations offer the ability to build sustainable, high-performance centers with strong local talent, increasingly reliable infrastructure, and a unique opportunity to shape a hub from the ground up. Start small if needed, build your secondary location, and let it mature into a core capability center over time.
India’s innovation map is expanding rapidly, and there’s no better time to be a part of that momentum.
This article is excerpted from YourStory’s latest report, 'Building Tomorrow's GCCs'.