On October 1st, at the Bharat Life Sciences Award Innovation Summit 2026, held in New Delhi, India, organised by FICCI, supported by Eli Lilly and Company and several Governmental bodies and private associations convened Indian policymakers, industry leaders, scientists, researchers, and innovators around the next phase of India’s life sciences ecosystem.
It exhibited a concentration of scientific, manufacturing and regulatory capability that places the country as one of the key contributors of the global vaccine supply story. DCVMN CEO Rajinder Suri joined the ongoing Innovation story and moderated Thematic Session 3, “Opportunities in Advancing Vaccine and Infectious Disease Platforms and Development Capabilities,” converging perspectives from government, regulators, and industry around a central question: how can India accelerate the development of next-generation vaccine platforms, and what role should it aspire to play in shaping them. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi joined the industry leaders in the Session — Mr. Kartik Bahl, Senior Director of Infectious Diseases, Eli Lilly and Company , Mr. Kartik Rajendran, Co-Chair, FICCI Pharma Committee & MD, Abbott, Mr. Sanjiv Navangul, MD & CEO, Bharat Serums and Vaccines Limited, Dr. Sanjay Singh, Founder & CEO, Immunoscript Life Science, Mr. Lakshminarayana Neti, COO, Biological E. Limited and Dr. Kapil Maithal, FRSC, FRSB, President, Vaccines & Diagnostics, Zydus Group — highlighting the reforms undertaken in India in the regulatory pathways in past 2-3 years, that can shorten platform development timelines and into the strategic opportunities leapfrogging from manufacturing excellence into innovation space, for India to position itself for next-generation platform partnerships as a co-creator of the platforms that will define the next era of global health, including expanding into adult immunisation. It is a shift in positioning that carries real weight for the wider DCVMN network, as when a leading member country elevates its ambition from supply to co-creation, the whole ecosystem of developing country vaccine manufacturers benefits from the opening up of new pathways for collaboration, technology partnerships, and shared platform development.
Later in the programme, Mr. Suri joined the CEOs Roundtable chaired by none other than, Prof. Gobardhan Das, honourable member of NITI Aayog in the august presence of Shri Manoj Joshi, Honourable Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry Of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India and attended by the likes of Shri Pankaj Patel, Chairman of Zydus Life Sciences and Mr Satish Reddy, Chairman of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in addition to Dave Ricks, Chair and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company. The focus of the conversation during the Roundtable with industry leaders centred on the strategic choices that will shape the ecosystem, transforming India’s leadership in the innovation space.
