"It has a great reputation as one of the premier biomedical institutions, " says Novartis' head of corporate research, Paul Herrling.

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But Paul Herrling, head of corporate research at Novartis, says such investments could go far, as the firm does not expect to do the costly bits of drug development, such as clinical trials, itself.

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"If the situation stays as now, all improvements on an original compound are not protectable and such drugs would probably not be rolled out in India, " Paul Herrling, former Novartis's head of research and development, told the Financial Times.

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