The company's chief executive William Haseltine told the country's Financial Express newspaper that India has the capacity to capture almost a quarter of the global pharmaceutical business.
India is already emerging as a powerhouse in the production of chemical pharmaceutical ingredients, filing a third of all the Drug Master Files for active pharma ingredients (APIs) received in the US last year. But the country's has not seen any significant investment to date in biologics production.
Haseltine told a meeting to mark the opening of a new clinical research facility by Indian firm Nicholas Piramal that the company was looking beyond a manufacturing alliance in the country and is also interested in in- and out-licensing products.
Almost a third of $40-$50 billion (€33-€41bn) spend by global pharma firms could come into India from 2010, provided the regulations were in place, he added.
In order to achieve its potential in biotech, India will have to overcome some significant barriers, including a confused regulatory environment, uncertainties about intellectual property protection and the slow pace of integration between academic and commercial science.