"India is an important market for us"

Martin Madaus, chairman, CEO and president, Millipore.

In 2005, Millipore managed to generate revenues to the tune of $991 million and there was fast-paced growth. What have been the new initiatives that drove this growth?

Our revenue growth increased in 2005 for a number of reasons. First, we extended our market leadership in faster growing market segments such as monoclonal antibody processing, vaccine processing and protein research. Second, we benefited from strong demand from biopharmaceutical customers worldwide. Third, we saw a contribution from several new product launches, including an innovative clarification filter for biotech drugs and a new series of laboratory water purification systems. Fourth, we acquired two companies that contributed to our growth in 2005. Finally, we improved our execution throughout the company on key projects, processes and tasks.

NovAseptic and MicroSafe are your recent acquisitions. How would these two companies fit into your business model?

These two companies are a great fit with our strategy. With MicroSafe, we extend our service offering to biotech and pharmaceutical companies. With NovAseptic, we extended our leadership in process monitoring technology, and added component systems that are complementary to our prior offering. Both companies have great scientific talent, which will help us advance our initiatives in process monitoring technology and disposable manufacturing.

How important is Millipore India in your overall business development efforts?

Millipore India is very important in our overall business development efforts - both in building our business in India and in building our global business with manufacturing and R&D support. In biopharmaceuticals, we have an excellent team in India supporting our customers who have built a great reputation for Millipore. The same goes for China, although the emphasis is more on the laboratory business in China.

How do you plan to grow your core businesses of filtration and chromatography?

We see the core business to grow 8-10 percent mid-term and we will achieve this by focusing on the right market segments and geographies. India is a key part of this growth and here we are aiming at much higher revenue growth rates. New products that will advance productivity for customers in filtration and chromatoographic technology will also help to achieve the growth. At the same time we are broadening our product offering with acquisitions, alliances and internal development.

Where is Millipore in the realm of disposable manufacturing? Do you see disposable manufacturing growing in India where anything disposed is seen as waste?

Millipore has developed disposable components, allied with other companies, and acquired NovAseptic A.B., which has disposable technology. The disposable products will greatly enhance biopharmaceutical production productivity and possibly safety. There is more waste in the form of plastics, which has to be dealt with. However, it reduces waste in other areas, i.e., water and energy consumption for cleaning, man-hours, validation work, and other activities. With the advent of personalized medicine, very small volumes of drugs will have to be manufactured in a cost effective manner, disposable solutions will help to make it happen.

Could you give an overview of the global supply chain initiatives?

Our goal is to streamline our global supply chain from our suppliers through our customers. We are consolidating our manufacturing sites, initiating bioprocess systems manufacturing in India, and working to improve our transaction efficiencies. We are reducing overhead costs and at the same time investing in quality and manufacturing technology to achieve our goals.

How would you describe the current scene for lab equipment and the emerging global trends?

There are emerging health care threats and demographic trends that point to the need for more research and more funding for research. There are emerging economies in India and China with new needs for analytical testing and quality control. These trends are very positive, and we are committed to the bioscience market. There is a need for more productivity in the laboratory – and our tools and technologies help improve productivity. Millipore is actively seeking to add to the technology platforms we bring to the laboratory and leverage our sales and service organization worldwide. Walk into any laboratory in India and there is a good chance you'll find a Millipore product.