Novo Nordisk, MAHE collaborate for deep research into pharmacometrics

Bengaluru: Novo Nordisk Global Business Services (GBS) and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) have expanded their long-standing collaboration to strengthen India’s capabilities in pharmacometrics, a specialised scientific discipline that uses data, modelling and simulation to support drug development and clinical decision- making. 

As part of this collaboration, Novo Nordisk GBS is set to provide financial support of Rs. 1.75 crore over five years to support the growing need for specialised talent, research capacity and advanced infrastructure in quantitative drug development. As medicines become increasingly complex and data-driven, pharmacometrics is playing a critical role in improving clinical trial design, understanding treatment responses across patient populations and supporting more informed drug development decisions. 

A key focus of the collaboration will be the establishment of an advanced pharmacometrics computing facility at MAHE, aimed at supporting research, training and scientific collaboration in the field.

The initiative will also support one full-time PhD scholar and one post-doctoral fellow annually, helping create a specialised talent pipeline for quantitative drug development and clinical pharmacology.

In addition, four to six specialised learning modules will be introduced under the theme Innovation for Quantitative Drug Development, which will cover areas such as Model-Informed Drug Development (MIDD), systems modelling approaches and translational frameworks for emerging therapeutic modalities, including cell and gene therapies and multi-specific therapies.

The collaboration seeks to create greater opportunities for researchers and students to engage with real-world drug development challenges while strengthening India’s participation in a field that is becoming increasingly important to global pharmaceutical innovation.

John Dawber, Vice-President and Managing Director, Novo Nordisk Global Business Services, said: “India has become an increasingly important part of Novo Nordisk’s global value creation engine, and our GBS in Bengaluru continues to play an extensive role across our value chain. Through this collaboration with MAHE, we are looking to build the next layer of specialised capability in pharmacometrics and quantitative sciences, which is not only essential for India but also connects with our global teams and solidifies the way we support R&D across Novo Nordisk. For me, this is about bringing the right talent, strong academic partnerships and real business challenges together, so that the work we do here has a meaningful impact for colleagues, for the wider Novo Nordisk GBS ecosystem, and ultimately for patients around the world.”

Dr Sharath K. Rao, Vice-Chancellor, MAHE, said: “This collaboration marks an important milestone in advancing research and training in one of the fastest-growing areas of pharmaceutical sciences. By combining academic excellence with industry expertise, we will strengthen India’s capabilities in pharmacometrics, create opportunities for cutting-edge research and prepare the next generation of scientists to contribute to global drug development.”

Speaking on the importance of academic partnerships, Henrik Agersø, Senior Director, Pharmacometrics, Novo Nordisk Global R&D, said: “I am thrilled about this planned collaboration with MAHE, which reiterates our shared commitment to advancing quantitative sciences and evidence-based drug development. As obesity research moves beyond weight loss alone, understanding changes in body composition across therapies is becoming crucial. Through this initiative, we aim to develop a reproducible modelling framework based on published evidence, generating valuable scientific insights while strengthening capabilities in model-informed research.”

Emphasising the academic impact of the initiative, Dr Srinivas Mutalik, Principal, MCOPS, and Dr Surulivel Rajan, Head, Department of Pharmacy Practice, MCOPS, said: “By integrating academic expertise with industry insights, this collaboration will provide students and researchers with specialised training, advanced computational resources and meaningful exposure to contemporary drug development approaches. It will strengthen our research ecosystem and prepare highly skilled professionals capable of addressing emerging challenges in quantitative drug development.”

The initiative is being undertaken under NovoSPARC (Strategic Partnership with Academic and Research Centres), Novo Nordisk GBS’ academic collaboration framework that supports research, innovation and talent development through partnerships with leading institutions.