India, Oct. 13 -- How would you characterise the current deal environment in Indian pharma? What is driving transactions today: scale, portfolio gaps, new capabilities or access to markets?

Deal activity in Indian pharma is healthy, but the logic behind it has changed. A few years ago, buyers were largely paying for revenue and manufacturing scale. Today they are paying for capability: a complex generics pipeline, a biologics platform, a specialty franchise with strong physician pull, or a foothold in a market that would take a decade to build organically.

Strategic buyers want assets that move them up the value chain faster than internal R&D can. Private equity is running a complementary playbook, building platforms in domestic branded...