India is a large, complex and rapidly evolving healthcare market. Technology is improving access to healthcare, new treatment options are reaching more patients, and adoption of modern methods is increasing. And there is still a long way to go.
That combination makes India attractive.
But it can also make it easy to enter the market with the wrong assumptions.
Having worked on bringing global innovator brands to India and launching brand franchises here, one thing has become clear to me: the opportunity in India is just the starting point. The more important concern should be how an organisation will succeed here.
For a global healthcare company, the questions are not simply about whether India is attractive. They are about whether the opportunity fits the organisation, what it will take to build a meaningful business, how the company should enter, and what it will take to succeed.
So, before making the decision to enter India, what should a global healthcare company really think through?
In my experience, five questions are particularly important.
1. What Makes India Attractive - For Us?
India's healthcare market is large and growing. But that alone does not make it the right opportunity for every company.
The starting point is to understand where the opportunity really lies.
How large is the relevant market? How quickly is it growing? Where is future growth likely to come from? What are the economics? How intense is competition? What regulatory or market barriers exist?
But there is another part to the question:
How attractive is this opportunity for us?
A global healthcare company may see significant potential in India, but the opportunity needs to make sense in the context of its own portfolio, capabilities and ambitions.
Perhaps there is a strong growth opportunity for an existing portfolio. Perhaps a global product addresses an important unmet need. Perhaps the company has capabilities or assets that can be particularly valuable in India.
The important thing is to understand where the attractive opportunities are — and whether they are attractive for us.
2. What Gives Us a Right to Win in India?
An attractive opportunity is only the beginning.
A global healthcare company may already have an established portfolio, innovative products, strong brands, scientific capabilities or deep expertise in particular therapeutic areas.
But which of those strengths will actually give the company an advantage in India?
And what might be missing?
A product that has performed extremely well globally does not automatically become a successful business in India. The same is true of an established global brand.
The organisation has to be clear about which of its global or home-country strengths will work in India.
In addition, the company may need to build new capabilities, develop local relationships, understand a different competitive environment or adapt its commercial approach.
I saw this while launching innovator brands in India. The strength of the global product was an important starting point. But turning that opportunity into a successful India business required much more than simply bringing the product to the market.
3. What Do We Want to Build in India?
This question is often overlooked.
A company may decide that India is an attractive market and have a strong portfolio with which to enter. But what role does India actually need to play in the organisation's future?
Is the objective to establish a presence around a particular product or portfolio?
Is India expected to become a significant growth market?
Does the organisation want to build a substantial business over time?
Is the intention to enter cautiously, test the opportunity and then scale?
These are very different ambitions.
And they can lead to very different choices around investment, organisation, portfolio, commercial model and speed of entry.
The answer also needs to be realistic.
A company may aspire to build a large India business, but if it is not prepared to make the required investments or build the necessary capabilities, that ambition will remain on paper.
The ambition for India should therefore be clear before deciding what the India business should look like.
4. What Business Could We Actually Build - and How Should We Enter?
Once the ambition is clear, the discussion becomes much more concrete.
What business could we actually build?
Which products or categories should we participate in? Who should we target? What would the commercial model look like? What scale could realistically be achieved? What investment would be required?
And then comes the question of how to enter.
There is rarely only one route.
A company could build its own organisation, partner with an established player, license products, acquire an existing business or use a combination of approaches.
The right answer depends on what the company wants to build and the capabilities it already has.
If speed is important, partnering or acquiring may make sense.
If the organisation wants greater control and is committed to building a long-term presence, developing its own capabilities may be the better route.
There is no universally right entry model.
The right route is the one that best fits the business we want to build.
5. What Will It Take to Make the Business Successful?
This is where the India entry decision needs to move from a business case to reality.
What organisation will be required?
What capabilities need to be built locally?
What needs to be adapted for India?
How will the business go to market?
What should be owned by the India organisation and what can be supported by the global organisation?
What investment and management commitment will be required?
And perhaps most importantly:
Are we prepared to do what it takes to build the business we have decided we want?
Entering India is one decision.
Building a successful business here is another.
Building the right business for India
India offers significant opportunities for global healthcare companies. But entering the market is only the first step.
The goal should be to build a business that is right for India, right for the organisation, and capable of succeeding over the long term.
At Aovantage, we help healthcare companies assess opportunities in India, make the right market entry and growth choices, and build practical pathways to succeed.
Our focus is not just on the strategy, but on what it takes to turn the strategy into a successful business.