"Thermo Fisher Scientific continues to invest substantially in R&D spending globally,"

-Amit Chopra, MD, Laboratory Products for Thermo Fisher.

Thermo Fisher Scientific clocked a record year in 2007, with 10 percent growth in sales over 2006 to nearly $10 billion. The Laboratory Products business of Thermo Fisher Scientific provides a combination of products and services that allow scientists to engage in functions of research, development, manufacturing, clinical diagnosis and drug discovery more accurately, rapidly and cost effectively. Amit Chopra, managing director, Laboratory Products for Thermo Fisher reveals about the company's contribution to biotech R&D.

What is Thermo Fisher's contribution to the Indian R&D segment over the last one year?

Thermo Fisher Scientific is a partner to scientists and laboratories advancing "personalized medicine" and pioneering "protein-based" drugs through biomarker discovery. We're focused on providing innovative essential lab equipment, analytical instruments, supplies and bio-tools for researchers working in the fields of immunology, cell biology, molecular biology, drug discovery, genomics, proteomics, systems biology and stem cell biology. We are a major supplier to vaccine manufacturing industry with our NUNC branded cell factories and roller bottles. We also have advanced solutions for high throughput screening and robotics for drug discovery. We are setting up a new $17 million facility in Ahmedabad to support the growing demand for biopharma services. This facility will focus on packaging, global distribution and logistics management of tightly regulated pharmaceutical samples to patients participating in clinical trials across the globe.

How does Thermo Fisher bring about innovation in all its products?

Thermo Fisher Scientific continues to invest substantially in R&D spending globally, to bring new products to market. These products include instruments, reagents and consumables used in areas such as pharmaceutical research, clinical diagnostics, environmental and food safety applications throughout the world.

What are the new products that will be launched in the near future?

We have launched a complete range of plastic disposable products that include the patented ART tips, Micro centrifuge tubes, PCR consumables and Arrayscan VTi, an HCS (High Content Screening) system sold under the Thermo Scientific brand. In addition to this, we are also launching new high-end equipment, advanced centrifuges, biological safety cabinets, Microplate Instruments, Lab Automation and several innovative cold storage products and advanced laboratory water purification systems.

What is the current market scenario for the Biosupplier segment?

The Indian Biotechnology industry is annually growing at the rate of 30 percent and is likely to grow $5 billion by the end of 2010. India will emerge as a key destination for clinical trials, contract research and stem cell research. Thermo Fisher Scientific is solution provider for all these applications. For example, we provide Thermo Scientific incubators, centrifuges, biosafety cabinets, magnetic particle separators, microplate readers, liquid handling, and plastic consumables as part of total workflow solutions for these applications. We also offer a wide range of products for specific segments in biotech, e.g. our initiative for "Stem Cell Excellence".

How do you think Biosuppliers have augmented the progress of the Biotech industry? Explain in context of Thermo Fisher Scientifics' role?

We introduce new technologies and solutions to meet the challenges faced by researchers in their day to day work. This not only eases the research process but also reduces the time taken to convert an idea into a product or a solution. At Thermo Fisher Scientific, we have been successfully serving the needs of the healthcare industry for generating life saving drugs and vaccines. We provide systems for culturing and nursing cells used in production of drugs and other bio active compounds as well as virus cell populations and vaccines. Also, through our NUNC brand we have provided large scale cell culture system to various leading bio production vaccine manufacturing companies in India. The services of Thermo Fisher Scientifics range from pre-procurement to after-sales-support, meeting the various accreditation standards and norms.

Nayantara Som