By Rishika Sadam
HYDERABAD (Reuters) -U.S.-based laboratory equipment maker Agilent Technologies plans to double its investments in India to expand in one of its fastest-growing markets, a top executive said.
The company anticipates the Indian market to grow in the high teens and beyond, CEO Padraig McDonnell told Reuters, during the inauguration of its center in Hyderabad, a city in southern India.
CEO McDonnell said the company plans to double its investments in India over the next three years, without specifying the amount, and added, “Before the end of the year, we’re going to have new announcements about investments in India.”
Agilent generated revenue of $6.51 billion in the previous fiscal year, with the U.S. being its largest market. It produces laboratory equipment used in research, production and testing by pharmaceutical, chemical and food companies.
“We’re evenly split across markets, like one-third from the U.S., Europe and Asia,” McDonnell said. However, he declined to provide details on India’s contribution to total revenue, noting only that it is growing in double digits.
The soaring demand for weight-loss drugs and drugmakers racing to develop their own versions is expected to boost demand for Agilent’s services, McDonnell said.
Indian drugmakers are working on developing cheaper versions of Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy.
Agilent has already observed such demand in other markets, and anticipates growth in its order book as more Indian pharmaceutical companies develop drugs for complex diseases, and work on cell and gene therapies, according to McDonnell.
“All these spaces are very fast-growing markets. So we expect these drivers to continue to grow. And that’s why we want to kind of invest ahead of the curve,” he said, adding that India is expected to be a bigger growth driver of overall revenue in the coming years.
(Reporting by Rishika Sadam; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
