"There is a significant opportunity for LC and multi-angle light scattering instruments to be used in CDMOs across India"

In February, Waters Corporation, a global leader in analytical instruments and software, entered into an agreement to acquire Wyatt Technology, a pioneer in innovative light scattering and field-flow fractionation instruments, software, accessories and services, for $1.36 billion in cash. BioSpectrum spoke with Dr Udit Batra, President and CEO, Waters Corporation about the acquisition and how the company will expand the product portfolio of Wyatt Technology in the Indian market. Edited excerpts:

- Narayan Kulkarni [e-mail]

What prompted Waters to go in for this acquisition?

There are many reasons, but three stand out. Chief among them is a common mission that we share to help lower the costs and increase access to biotherapies. Biologies, including cell and gene therapies, can dramatically change the quality of life for a significant percentage of the population and there is considerable demand for developing these drugs. But the astronomical costs of delivering these therapies are a major barrier to adoption.

Wyatt's innovative products are used to determine the properties of novel therapeutics such as cell and gene therapies, vaccines and proteins, as well as synthetic polymers and nanoparticles. This is complementary to the work we already do in the large molecule separation and characterisation space. We believe that combining our capabilities with Wyatt's, a company with robust exposure to bioanalytical characterisation, can help our customers to lower the costs of biologic drug development and manufacturing. That, in turn, can help increase patient access and affordability of these life-changing therapies. Second, bioanalytical characterisation for new modalities is a significant market opportunity, with a $1.8 billion total addressable market and 10-12 per cent projected annual growth. With our joint efforts, we are well positioned to build a high-growth bioanalytical characterisation business.

Finally, this acquisition adds significant value for our shareholders. Wyatt is immediately accretive to Waters' revenue growth and margin profile. But it is more than the profit for us - the long-term potential to help our biopharma customers develop and bring to market life-saving therapies at a lower cost is solving a problem that truly matters.

How would you describe the benefits of Wyatt's light scattering technologies?