French pharmaceutical group Servier is sharpening its India strategy with a string of new oncology launches focused on rare cancers, plans for local manufacturing of active ingredients, and a move to bring global clinical trials to the country for the first time. The shift marks a significant elevation of India in Servier’s global priorities, aligning it almost in step with launches in the western markets.
“Our forecast in terms of development is that we'll be able to steadily grow our historical cardiovascular-metabolism-diabetes portfolio, and we'll be able to scale up drastically in oncology, meaning the share of India by itself within the group is going to increase,” Aurelien Breton, managing director of Servier India told Mint in an interview.
The company recently got market authorization from the Indian drug regulator for its drug Vorasidenib (Voranigo), a first-in-class, oral therapy for adults or children over 12 with grade-2 gliomas or types of brain cancer, with specific genetic mutations. The product will be commercially available in the next few months, said Breton.
Notably, the approval in India came only a few weeks after Europe and just over a year after the product was launched in the US. “What is great is we are coming only one year after the US, whereas for many innovations, India is often years and years behind,” Breton said.
Voranigo follows two other India launches over the past year: Onivyde for metastatic pancreatic cancer and Tibsovo that treats cholangiocarcinoma, a form of gastric cancer, and certain types of blood cancer. Onivyde “gave us initial traction to build our capabilities, teams and expertise,” said Breton.
“India is now in the top-tier worldwide in terms of speed of launch,” the executive said, adding that future registrations are expected to run “at the same time” as other markets like Europe. The company’s global pipeline continues to centre on targeted therapies for rare cancers, including specific mutations in blood cancers and eye melanoma.
Historically known for its strong presence in cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes, Servier began a strategic pivot roughly a decade ago.
“Around 10 years ago, we decided to explore a new horizon, particularly in oncology, and we've been developing molecules and brands in that field,” Breton said. The company’s structure as a foundation-backed firm has allowed it to “take bolder R&D risks in going after rare and aggressive cancers,” he added.
Clinical trials
Servier is preparing to conduct global clinical trials in India, a first for the company. “This is our next stage of development to ensure that any molecule we develop has the same efficacy and safety in an Indian setting,” Breton said. The move expands Servier’s engagement beyond commercial launches and taps into India’s growing importance in global R&D.
Additionally, the firm is exploring partnerships with domestic contract manufacturers (CMOs) to bring in their active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), formulate them here and export globally.
Servier is governed by a non-profit foundation, the Fondation Internationale de Recherche Servier (FIRS). The group reported a revenue of €5.9 billion in 2024.