Eisai Pharma to establish GCC in Visakhapatnam

VISAKHAPATNAM: Eisai Pharma, a noted human health care pharmaceutical company with a global presence, announced its plans to establish a new Global Capability Center (GCC) in Visakhapatnam, further expanding its digital transformation and innovation footprint in India. The announcement was made by Makoto Haketsu, Global Chief Information Officer of Eisai Pharma, during his visit to GITAM Deemed to be University on Wednesday.Haketsu, accompanied by his core technical team, interacted with Visakhapatnam Member of Parliament and GITAM President M. Sribharat, who led the university’s leadership team in hosting the delegation. The discussions centered around potential academic-industry collaborations and aligning digital healthcare initiatives with research and innovation.Senior GITAM officials present at the meeting included Secretary M. Bharadwaja, Vice-Chancellor Dr. Eroll D’Souza, Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof. Y. Goutham Rao, Dean of Computer Science Dr. Arun Kumar, Head of MURTI Labs Dr. BVR Tata, and Director of GITAM IT Wing V. Sairam, along with other senior faculty members.Speaking on the occasion, Makoto Haketsu emphasized the company’s commitment to accelerating digital transformation initiatives with robust support from the Government of Andhra Pradesh and the Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ). “By bringing together exceptional digital talent, we aim to drive cutting-edge solutions that redefine how healthcare meets evolving needs,” said Haketsu. He lauded GITAM’s academic infrastructure, its thriving interdisciplinary research environment, and the university’s emphasis on emerging technologies. Expressing strong interest in academic collaboration, he noted that GITAM could become a valuable partner in Eisai’s mission to integrate digital innovation in healthcare.During the interaction, Vizag MP M. Sribharat highlighted GITAM’s strategic focus on industry partnerships, innovation-driven education, and real-world research. “We are keen to explore joint research activities and collaborative technology development in areas such as data science, healthcare technologies, and pharmaceutical research with Eisai Pharma,” he stated.Eisai’s visiting delegation also included Eisai India Executive Director & Site Head (VSP) Dr.Girish Dixit, Deputy Senior Executive Director (IT) Kosuke Ichinose, Talent Management Lead Naonori Shibata, Chief Operational Excellence Officer Dr.Kentaro Nagane, Human Resource Head Dr.Hemant Nikam, Projects & Engineering Head Anand Gal Phade and IT Head Joseph Kiran Kumar participated in the discussions.