CHENNAI: Hyderabad emerged as a prominent global centre of life sciences manufacturing activity in India. One of the most progressing business districts in the South Indian city — Genome Valley– is already home to over 200 biotech and pharmaceutical companies from 18 countries, and houses facilities of six of the world’s top 10 research and development (R&D) companies.
According to a latest report, ‘Global Life Sciences Atlas, released by CBRE, one of the world’s leading real estate consultants, more than 20 life sciences and medical technology incubators are in Hyderabad. This is the highest concentration of medtech players in India.
The report, which profiles some of the world’s most important life sciences hubs—traditional and emerging — and examining investment and construction trends impacting the life sciences industry, points out that Hyderabad is currently the key contributor and largest life sciences manufacturing and R&D cluster, undertaking research, training, and manufacturing, in India.
The city accounts for nearly one-third of the country’s pharmaceutical production, one-fifth of its pharmaceutical exports, and one-third of global vaccine output, the report highlighted.
The growing prominence of the life sciences industry has significantly impacted the growth of real estate development globally, with more than 35 million sq. ft. of lab/research and development (R&D) properties under construction last year. While US markets top the world’s largest life sciences R&D centres, other mainstays can be found in cities in Asia-Pacific region, like Hyderabad, Beijing, Shanghai, and Greater Tokyo.
In the APAC region life sciences landscape, India has a leading position, driven by the expansion of pharmaceutical, biotech and medical devices companies. The report states that the gross office leasing space by life sciences firms in India increased by about 56% in 2025 year-on-year. It is an increase of about 5.8 million sq. ft. as against the previous year, , witnessing the highest-ever leasing activity by the sector.
This growth has been driven by several factors, including increased foreign direct investment (FDI), enhanced manufacturing capabilities, a cost-effective talent pool, greater emphasis on R&D, and demographic trends such as a rising population and increasing life expectancy, according to CBRE report.
Additionally, the ecosystem in Genome Valley supports diverse operations ranging from drug discovery to clinical research and large-scale manufacturing. Leading players here include Aurigene Pharma Services, Bharat Biotech, Biological E, Chemo, Cohance, Ferring, Indian Immunologicals, Novartis, Sai Life Sciences and Syngene.
