How Manish Gupta Built Indegene into a publicly listed Pharma Powerhouse

How did Manish Gupta turn Indegene into a global pharma powerhouse from scratch in India’s toughest startup era? In this episode of the Founder Thesis Podcast, we explore the journey of building a billion-dollar digital-first life sciences commercialization leader.

From starting Indegene in 2000 with just $350K of seed funding, to battling cash crunches and eventually scaling into a full-stack partner for global pharma, Manish Gupta shares the raw realities of sustainable scaling. He reveals how Indegene leveraged physician credibility, early tech adoption, and acquisitions to evolve into a trusted partner for medical affairs, omnichannel HCP engagement, and digital clinical trials. In this candid conversation with host Akshay Datt, Manish also breaks down why enduring institutions outlast hype cycles and how Indegene navigated funding winters, regulatory shifts, and global expansions. This is a masterclass in patient capital, contrarian strategy, and building a resilient healthcare tech giant.

Key highlights:

• How Manish Gupta built Indegene into a global life sciences leader
• Lessons from scaling without easy VC money in early 2000s India
• Indegene’s secret growth levers in pharma commercialization and medical affairs
• Navigating regulatory shocks like the Sunshine Act and FDA compliance
• Why digital-first omnichannel is the future of pharma engagement
• Founder insights on sustainable growth, acquisitions, and IPO readiness

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00:00 - Manish Gupta and Indegene’s origin story
05:30 - Early struggles, seed funding, and first revenues
13:20 - Surviving the dotcom bust and scaling profitably
20:45 - First US acquisition and global expansion lessons
30:00 - Pharma industry shifts, compliance, and the Sunshine Act
36:50 - Indegene’s pivot to a Virtual Sales Organization model
44:30 - Building global medical affairs and regulatory capabilities
52:10 - Carlyle and Brighton Park investment, scaling to IPO
1:02:00 - Digital-first future of pharma, AI and real-world evidence
1:08:20 - Founder advice on patience, prudence, and institution building

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