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Genome Valley, the 2,000-acre life sciences cluster just outside Hyderabad, is at the heart of Telangana’s claim to being the "vaccine capital of the world." Data show the region produces around one‑third of global vaccine doses, an output that confirms India’s reputation as the pharmacy of the world. Beyond vaccines, Hyderabad accounts for approximately 35% of India's pharmaceutical and bulk drug production. Yet, even as Genome Valley strengthens its status as a manufacturing powerhouse, a question arises: Can it transcend its identity as India’s production bedrock and emerge as a genuine innovation hub? Genome Valley: Major scale-up hub and vaccine powerhouse While Genome Valley’s ambitions now reach into areas like cell and gene therapy, its foundation remains firmly industrial. The recent debacles between the U.S. and China following the WuXi AppTec controversy also sent additional business opportunities to Indian contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) as they witnessed more site visits from companies following the BIOSECURE Act discussions. The cluster’s role in global supply chains is not a matter of aspiration but of scale: the region produces roughly one-third of the world’s vaccine doses. Shakthi M. Nagappan, CEO of Telangana Life Sciences, confirmed that the hub has firmly established itself as the vaccine capital of the world. “As of mid-2025, Hyderabad supplies over 11 billion vaccine doses annually, with projections indicating a rise to 14 billion doses by the end of the year or early next year. This accounts for approximately 65% of India’s total vaccine production. Vaccines manufactured in Telangana are exported to over 140 countries, often through World Health Organization (WHO)-backed programs, and supported by WHO-prequalified and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved facilities.” To back this claim, Nagappan cited some of the vaccine contributions of the region: Hyderabad’s Bharat Biotech’s production of India’s first indigenous COVID vaccine during the pandemic, or Biological E. Limited’s partnership with Takeda to produce 50 million dengue vaccine doses per year in Genome Valley. Genome Valley, launched in 1999, was initially designed to consolidate and formalize the Telangana state’s manufacturing power. Over the past two decades, it has evolved into one of India’s largest organized biotech and pharmaceutical clusters. Today, Genome Valley brings together more than 200 companies from 18 countries, employing around 25,000 people. While global names like Novartis, GSK, and Thermo Fisher have a presence in the region, many local manufacturers and contract development firms drive the cluster’s activity. Nagappan cited a few contract research organizations (CROs) and CDMOs implanted in the hub, including Syngene, Sai Life Sciences, Aurigene, and Cohance. In essence, Genome Valley’s strength is density. It combines companies involved in large-scale vaccine manufacturing, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) production, and contract manufacturing into a single region. Another strength Nagappan claims the hub presents is speed. “Genome Valley supports the entire spectrum from discovery to global delivery. It offers ready-to-occupy lab space, including plug-and-play facilities that enable companies to become operational in three to five months.” Hyderabad Pharma City, a distinct initiative from Genome Valley in development nearby, is set to expand the region’s manufacturing focus further, but at what cost? Indeed, it is important to note that the Hyderabad Pharma City project is highly controversial and sparked local protests, notably among farmers, regarding the environmental and societal impact of the region’s pharma manufacturing capabilities expansion. Due to these concerns, the project was rebranded into Green Pharma City and comes with zero liquid discharge policies, but the real-world application of these greener practices remains to be seen. Becoming the world’s pharmacy comes at a cost that the local populations are currently paying through polluted water and serious health concerns. In 2023, Arte.tv asked the question whether Hyderabad Pharma City was curing the world at the cost of creating tomorrow’s diseases in the name of economic growth. While Genome Valley was not mentioned in Arte’s investigation as it operates in accordance with tighter international regulations and follows Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), the broader pharma industrial belt around Hyderabad was designated as responsible for serious environmental impact in the region. While Genome Valley itself operates under tighter regulations, its position within Hyderabad’s broader pharmaceutical belt inevitably links it to wider environmental concerns affecting the region. The profile of Genome Valley also raises a key strategic point: Genome Valley is above all a hub of production. While manufacturing capacity is indispensable to global healthcare, it does not automatically translate into the kind of early-stage innovation that defines hubs like Boston or Singapore. In Genome Valley, the question is not whether the cluster can produce; it already does at a global scale, but whether it can shift its weight towards discovery and the development of proprietary therapies. From manufacturing to innovation: Is the shift real? Nagappan highlighted that Genome Valley was shifting away from a purely manufacturing hub to an innovation-driven ecosystem. “In the domain of drug discovery, Genome Valley hosts top-tier CROs and CDMOs such as Syngene, Sai Life Sciences, Aurigene, and Cohance. In cell and gene therapy, Genome Valley is pioneering India’s progress with companies such as Bharat Biotech’s vertically integrated CGT facility, Miltenyi Biotec’s CAR-T manufacturing unit, and Yapan Bio’s viral vector platform. The B-Hub, supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), adds further strength by enabling biological scale-up manufacturing and workforce training in this emerging domain.” In early 2025, Bharat Biotech launched a cell and gene therapy (CGT) and viral vector production plant at Genome Valley with a $75 million investment. The facility is configured for GMP-grade production of adeno-associate virus (AAV), lentivirus, and adenovirus vectors, core components in gene and cell therapies. The company reports they are advancing a pipeline of five platform products, including CAR-T, CAR-NK, and off-the-shelf gene therapies, targeting launches by 2028. The company press release frames this move as a strategic pivot from vaccine manufacturing to personalized therapy, aiming to democratize CGT access by producing human-grade vectors domestically. Yet, despite its vertical integration, the initiative remains rooted in vector production, a manufacturing-intensive task. Bharat Biotech has not disclosed any late-stage clinical trials or proprietary therapeutic candidates in advanced development, suggesting that proof of clinical innovation lies more in the future than the present. Additionally, global tools provider Miltenyi Biotec launched India’s first CGT Center of Excellence in Genome Valley in early 2024. Genome Valley has made deliberate investments in cutting-edge CGT infrastructure and training, a departure from conventional manufacturing, yes, but more of an incremental shift than a full transformation. These platforms establish the right conditions for biotech R&D, yet the absence of ongoing clinical proof points means the cluster's evolution into an innovation hub remains aspirational. The next 24 months, when Bharat Biotech’s CGT pipeline data is expected and startups engage with Miltenyi’s tools, will be decisive in determining whether the hub has genuinely taken flight beyond production. The B-Hub Nagappan mentioned is another step toward innovation. It is a public-private accelerator operated jointly by the Government of Telangana, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation. While the word “accelerator” may suggest early-stage research support, the B‑Hub’s facilities are explicitly geared toward GLP/GMP biomolecule production rather than discovery. It offers plug‑and‑play labs and shared equipment, helping startups and mid‑sized firms to scale manufacturing, which is valuable, but more in the realm of tech transfer, rather than novel R&D. With training spaces and accessible equipment, it does address the gap of the lack of hands-on manufacturing and regulatory skills in the CGT space. Unlike traditional accelerators, the B‑Hub does not offer seed funding, mentorship, or drug discovery support. Its mission is to help firms convert bench research into regulatory‑grade material, not necessarily to guide pipeline development to clinical stages. So, is the shift real? The answer might not be yes or no, but a more nuanced not yet. Genome Valley’s future: Between policy push and innovation reality Despite its manufacturing scale and expanding infrastructure, Genome Valley’s transformation into a true innovation hub remains constrained. The most pressing of these constraints is talent. “Talent development is another area of ongoing focus. While Hyderabad has a strong technical workforce, emerging fields like biologics, digital health, and regulatory science require new skills. Upskilling programs and academic-industry partnerships are underway, but continued investment in human capital is essential to meet future demand,” said Nagappan. The region also faces limitations in its broader innovation ecosystem. Compared to biotech innovation clusters, Genome Valley lacks a deep base of venture capital, early-stage biotech startups, and proprietary drug discovery efforts. Much of the activity remains focused on contract research and manufacturing services for global firms. Intellectual property generation, regulatory infrastructure for innovative products, and startup funding mechanisms are still developing, factors that limit the emergence of homegrown biotech pipelines. To address these weaknesses, Telangana’s government has rolled out a series of policy initiatives. The TG-iPASS system, offering streamlined approvals and regulatory support, has made it easier for companies to establish operations. The MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Life Sciences Policy aims to further strengthen the sector through incentives. These measures consolidate Genome Valley’s position as a manufacturing leader, but whether they will catalyze discovery and pipeline innovation at scale is still to be seen. Initiatives like the B-Hub improve scale-up capacity but need more time to foster a true biotech innovation ecosystem. The policy focus remains focused toward infrastructure development and operational efficiency, rather than the discovery, funding, and clinical development that define leading innovation hubs globally. Nagappan trusts that the upcoming Life Sciences Policy 2025-2030 will catalyze new partnerships and translational research. “This will further support global companies and early-stage ventures alike in establishing or expanding their footprint here.” Telangana’s Vision 2030 sets ambitious targets: contributing to 40% of India’s objective to reach a life science market value of $120 billion by 2030 and creating 400,000 new jobs. Whether those jobs will support manufacturing lines or biotech innovation remains a critical question. In the meantime, Genome Valley is undoubtedly a manufacturing and scale-up powerhouse for biopharma. Today, it stands as a global supplier, efficient, scalable, and increasingly sophisticated. But its transition from a manufacturing hub to a biotech innovator depends on whether this infrastructure boom can be matched by the emergence of proprietary science, clinical-stage products, and venture-driven companies. After all, it’s Genome Valley’s ability to support the life science value chain that sets it apart. “The ongoing developments signal not just quantitative growth but qualitative transformation deepening Genome Valley’s ability to support the full life sciences value chain,” said Nagappan. Then again, the social and environmental concerns are serious. While Hyderabad Pharma City and Genome Valley are distinct projects, it does raise the question of the cost the region is ready to pay to become an essential biopharma partner in the industry, and how these costs may be managed in the future.