AD Agencies
Indegene snaps up BioPharm to muscle into AI-powered pharma advertising
PENNSYLVANIA: Indegene is buying BioPharm Communications, a specialised marketing agency serving 17 of the world’s top 25 biopharma firms. The acquisition, announced on 1 October, will bolt adtech capabilities onto the Indian company’s commercialisation portfolio and cement its position in data-driven omnichannel marketing for global pharma.
BioPharm, based in New Hope, Pennsylvania, is part of Omnicom Health Group. It brings 20 years of expertise in omnichannel strategy, media planning and execution, and precision marketing powered by analytics and automation. The deal is being done through ILSL Inc., a subsidiary of Indegene Ltd.
The timing is strategic. Pharma companies are scrambling to transform their marketing as physicians favour limited engagement and regulatory complexities mount. Traditional healthcare agencies are struggling to keep pace. Meanwhile, companies are juggling mature product portfolios whilst ramping up capabilities for new launches—all whilst trying to boost productivity.
“BioPharm has built an impressive growth flywheel, with advanced tech capabilities, deep therapeutic expertise, and long-standing client relationships,” said Indegene chairman and chief executive Manish Gupta. “This acquisition reinforces our position as the preferred tech-native commercialisation partner for the life sciences industry.”
BioPharm president Steve Carickhoff said Indegene was a natural home given its innovation-first, employee-centric culture backed by strong technology platforms and a global delivery model. “Their life sciences-contextualised approach to AI will open up new possibilities. Together, we will push the boundaries of AI-powered pharma marketing worldwide—delivering more personalised, measurable, and patient-focused outcomes.”
BioPharm operates a proprietary network of more than 3 million healthcare decision-makers, which it uses for precision targeting and addressable media campaigns. Combined with Indegene’s data assets, the acquisition should drive higher media returns on investment and enable more effective automated operations.
Indegene, listed on the BSE and NSE, describes itself as the tech-native life sciences specialist that orchestrates the path from commercialisation strategy through execution. It works with the world’s top 20 biopharma companies across clinical, medical and commercial functions. Founded 25 years ago, the company is headquartered in Bengaluru.
Seyfarth Shaw represented Indegene in the transaction.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
