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Thermo Fisher Scientific is taking proactive steps to build a continuous pipeline of qualified scientific talent by investing in workforce development and early-career opportunities. In this regard, it is collaborating with universities, research institutes and innovation ecosystems, to develop the skills to meet the needs of the rapidly evolving life sciences sector.
At a recently concluded Bio Pharma Summit 2026 held at Hyderabad’s Genome Valley, Tony Acciarito, president, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Srinath Venkatesh, managing director, India & South Asia, Thermo Fisher Scientific during media interaction said that in order to support India's biopharma ecosystem, three areas are identified. First is allowing Indian biopharmaceutical companies to leverage advanced analytical and bioprocessing capabilities from early-stage research through commercialisation. The second priority is talent development. The third is to help customers improve productivity and reduce time-to-market.
In order to maximise the talent capability, the company’s Customer Experience Centre (CEC) and Bioprocess Design Centre (BDC) in the Genome Valley are set up to address this requirement, giving customers direct access to technologies and workflows that may otherwise not be easily available, said Acciarito.
According to Venkatesh, building such ecosystems further contributes to local talent development by giving scientists, researchers and industry professionals’ practical exposure to advanced workflows and technologies. The company has collaborated with universities, research institutes and innovation ecosystems to build industry-ready skills, bridge the gap between academia and industry, and ensure a continuous pipeline of qualified scientific talent. These efforts strengthen the connection between education and industry while helping ensure access to skilled talent for the future.
Now to meet these expectations, it requires Thermo Fisher to continually strengthen its own technical capabilities and talent so that its employees can engage customers at an equivalent or higher level of scientific understanding. We see expectations around responsiveness and speed to have also increased considerably, making agility an increasingly important competitive advantage. Now understanding changing customer behaviour remains central to determining future investment in talent, infrastructure and technology, added Acciarito and Venkatesh.
On what are the visible workforce trends, Acciarito and Venkatesh, said that Thermo Fisher identified talent as one of the most significant challenges facing the global life sciences industry, noting the shortage of skilled scientific talent is a constraint across regions rather than an issue unique to India
Developing talent is a shared responsibility between industry, academia and government, requiring stronger collaboration to equip the workforce with skills relevant to biologics, advanced therapeutics and analytical sciences, noted Acciarito and Venkatesh.
While India's talent ecosystem has made significant progress, the company noted a continued need to strengthen industry-academia partnerships to better prepare graduates for evolving scientific and technical roles, and continues to collaborate with universities, research institutions and innovation centres to build an industry-ready pipeline.
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