Cytiva, a Danaher company in the life sciences industry, has released the third edition of its Global Biopharma Index. Every two years, the company surveys 1,250 biopharma executives across 22 countries. Participants rate the biopharma ecosystem in their respective countries on a scale of 0 to 10 across six pillars: supply chain resilience, talent pool, R&D ecosystem, manufacturing agility, government policy and regulation. Sustainability has been added as a new pillar in the 2025 survey.
The latest edition shows India ranking tenth globally, moving from fifteenth place in 2023. India’s index score increased to 6.04 from 5.95 in 2023. The report states that continued investment in R&D and generics manufacturing capacity contributed to this change.
Manoj Kumar R Panicker, General Manager of South Asia, Cytiva, says: “India’s biopharma ecosystem is evolving rapidly, with biosimilars emerging as a strategic lever for global impact. As policy and regulatory frameworks continue to mature, Cytiva is committed to enabling this momentum – through advanced digital technologies, skill development, and partnerships that help scale affordable biologics and sustainable innovation.”
A review of the six pillars shows the following:
Supply chain resilience shows 55 per cent of executives believe their country’s biopharma supply chain is stronger than it was 12 months ago. However, more than one-quarter of those surveyed said their supply chain is not prepared to support advanced modalities such as cell and gene therapies. 76 per cent predict geopolitical conditions will influence sourcing strategies. 56 per cent agree that domestic manufacturing of biologics will increase over the next three years.
The talent pool has seen limited change, with ongoing challenges in areas linked to cell and gene therapies, mRNA, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), sustainability, manufacturing, digital, and AI skills. Around one third of executives reported shortages in these areas.
The R&D ecosystem pillar shows higher scores than in 2023. Nearly half of respondents said it is still difficult to find partners such as CROs, CDMOs, academic institutions, and government research organisations.
Manufacturing agility data shows that many firms cannot scale production quickly. One in four executives stated their organisation would be slow or very slow to increase production of hormone-based products, mRNA vaccines, and cell and gene therapies.
Government policy and regulation continue to present difficulty, with 51 per cent stating policy environments are inconsistent. 50 per cent noted challenges in raising capital due to current market conditions.
Sustainability data shows that nearly half of executives report their companies do not meet sustainability targets. Almost two-thirds say sustainability initiatives are deprioritised due to financial and operational considerations. 34 per cent reported shortages in sustainability-related roles.
The report outlines actions including designing supply networks using digitisation and diversification, investing in talent development and retention, applying digital systems in R&D and manufacturing, improving collaboration with regulators, and integrating sustainability into operations. The findings indicate a need for cooperation between industry, research organisations, and policymaking bodies.