The next big thing: How Roche taps into India’s digital technology prowess

Roche, the 125-year-old Switzerland-headquartered healthcare company with a key focus on pharmaceutical and diagnostics segments, is now increasingly relying on technology to keep itself at the cutting-edge of innovation. And, India is playing a key role in this regard.

The company acquired US-based startup Viewics in 2017, which had its engineering centre in Pune, to convert it into Roche Information Solutions India Pvt Ltd.

Later in 2021, it converted this into a global capability centre, which collaborates with the company’s engineering and tech hubs in Spain, Austria, Poland, and Malaysia to develop innovative digital products.

“Pune is the only site for Roche worldwide, where it is a co-location for so many functions,” says Raja Jamalamadaka, Managing Director of Roche Information Solutions India.

In an interaction with EnterpriseStory, Jamalamadaka talks about the progress Roche Information Solutions has made in the last two and half years in India, and how it has been able to attract and nurture talent, enriching the healthcare technology ecosystem of the country.

Edited excerpts:

EnterpriseStory (ES): How would you describe Roche Information Solutions India?

Raja Jamalamadaka (RJ): Roche is all about innovation. One cannot be at the cutting-edge of innovation if you are not leveraging technology. Roche recognised it and set up this unit called Roche Information Solutions, focused on providing the tech power to take Roche to the next level.

Our responsibility is to work in close coordination with all the other engineering and tech hubs to help Roche stay at the front of innovation by developing innovative digital products.

We built in multiple spaces—diagnostic, diabetes, and internal products. Presently, we have a headcount of 400 people and will be much more in times to come. 

Roche Information Solutions has filed for around five patents, and this happens because the DNA of the organisation is built around innovation.

Roche is focused on hiring and ensuring the right talent comes in. We get experienced talent from different organisations, but we also play a role in developing talent.

We are working with certain universities for internship programmes. We are not in the numbers game, but we rather focus on how many patents are applied, what cutting-edge products are delivered, and how many of our people are called to speak at important conferences.

ES: How important is India for Roche?

RJ: The differentiator for this hub is slightly different. India is an extremely mature digital hub. We have access to quality talent in large numbers. India is the next big thing for the globe, and when you have potential, everybody wants to build knowing it is the next big one.

This is the kind of combination one will not get anywhere else. Additionally, there is a vast Indian diaspora that wants to come back to the country, and it adds to the talent. These things are attractive to Roche in India.

ES: What do you see as the key contributions of Roche Information Solutions India?

RJ: One is certainly in the areas of patents. Second, Pune is the only site for Roche worldwide, where it is a co-location for so many functions. Here, we have social information solutions, customer-facing solutions, informatics and internal products. We have an entire value system, and it is probably the USP.

Thirdly, and most probably, it has put us in a unique position to shape India's ecosystem and not get shaped by the ecosystem. We are playing a role in taking India to the next level. We feel the need to add value to India. There is no reason why we should not be giving back to the country.

ES: Is Roche Information Solutions engaged with the latest technologies like Gen AI, ML, etc.?

RJ: We have been engaging with all kinds of technologies. We are using these cutting-edge technologies to save peoples’ lives, and that makes a complete difference. It is not a question of toying around with these technologies but looking at how we can leverage them to improve patients’ lives—which also helps us attract talent.

ES: What is the long-term vision for Roche Information Solutions?

RJ: We hope to be a co-location and digital centre of choice for all of Roche. Today, we are already there for diagnostics, diabetes, and informatics. We hope, in some years, the Pune location becomes the digital centre for all things at Roche.

We aim to continue on the patent journey and do a lot of work on the pharma side of Roche. We also want to contribute even more to India. We are also looking very closely not just at hiring the right talent but also at developing them through partnerships with academic institutes.