The company made the announcement at a press conference in Mumbai last week, at which it unveiled the formation of its local subsidiary, called Eisai India Pharmaceuticals Pvt.
Eisai said it will use India as a base to carry out clinical trials, manufacture medicines and gain access to the country's expertise in synthetic chemistry, according to the firm's deputy president Sochi Matsuno.
He noted that in addition to the benefits of sourcning these activities in India, Eisai also considers the country a major emerging market opportunity. "The Indian pharmaceutical market is worth $4.8 billion, ranked 15th in the world," said Matsuno, adding that this made the drugmaker look towards India as a new 'business cluster'.
The new subsidiary has already started carrying out clinical trials at three centres in the country.