Takeda launches innovation hub in Bengaluru; plans to hire 750 people

Japanese biopharmaceutical company Takeda inaugurated its first innovation center in India on Wednesday. Located in Bengaluru, this innovation capability center (ICC) will have Takeda’s employees building digital solutions as part of the company’s global digital transformation, including insourcing capabilities. The company plans to hire 750 people for the center by the end of the year. 

The Bengaluru center is one of the three Takeda’s ICCs globally, other two are located in Slovakia and Mexico. With the Bengaluru ICC, Takeda wants to tap into access to talent, especially in software engineering, data analytics, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The center will also place the company closer to other ecosystem partners while allowing it to leverage the Karnataka government’s vision to place the city as the digital hub, the company spokesperson said during the media brief. 

“Tapping into local talent is vital in our quest to create better health for people and a brighter future for the communities we serve. Investing in India’s remarkable talent and technological expertise underscores Takeda’s commitment leveraging local expertise to deliver innovative, data-driven solutions and sustainable growth,” said Gabriele Ricci, Chief Data and Technology Officer at Takeda. 

The company will focus mainly on building software as a medical device component at the Bengaluru center, including the plasma donor management system. Additionally, the team will be working on AI and generative AI solutions; device engineering and application virtualisation for product development and patient-centric solutions;data science and visualizations for decision-making.

“India was a natural choice for Takeda’s first ICC in Asia,” said Tilak Banerjee, Head of Takeda ICC India. “This strategic commitment will generate new jobs and further the company’s global mission of delivering life-transforming treatments to patients.”

Takeda is a 243-year-old company, ranked as one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies with a workforce strength of 50,000 employees across 80 countries. It has been in India for the last 13 years, operating out of a commercial office in Gurugram.