'India is the best fit for our first step into Asia'

Mr Alastair Gray, managing director, Phenomenex India

Mr Bobby Virasingh, director sales & marketing, Phenomenex India

Phenomenex, a global leader in the research and manufacture of advanced technologies for separation sciences, has expanded its international subsidiary network to serve India directly from a new head office in Hyderabad. The new entity, which opened in April, will serve research communities throughout India with sales and service teams that would sell all Phenomenex products directly and provide timely technical support, training and seminars.

Phenomenex serves research customers in a wide range of industries, including drug discovery and development, chemical processing, biofuel analysis, food and water safety, forensics and toxicology. All Phenomenex products, including the leading Luna, Gemini, Synergi, Kinetex, Strata-X, BioSep, Lux and Zebron brands, will be supplied exclusively from the Indian office to customers in India. In an email interview to BioSpectrum, Mr Alastair Gray, MD and Mr Bobby Virasingh, director of sales and marketing, Phenomenex India, share their views and plans for the Indian market.

Q India is your first entry point to the Asian market. How do you see the market in the Asian region in general and India in particular?
Phenomenex has been expanding its global operations and presence since 1987. The demand for Phenomenex products throughout Asia has been growing exponentially over the last few years.

Given the region's strong potential and customer demand, Phenomenex found that India would be the best fit for our first step into Asia. Being closer to our customers gives us the opportunity to serve their needs.

Q What is your investment in setting up direct presence in India and what will be the strength of your operations in India?
Out of the 18 Phenomenex offices established, our Indian operation has required the largest capital and human investment so far. The strength of all Phenomenex operations has been the way we have revolutionized the world of chromatography. We constantly expand our research and development efforts to support a wide range of applications in a vast number of industries, from pharmaceuticals to alternative fuels. Producing relevant and innovative technologies that will continue to shape the future of scientific analysis and investigation is the core strength of our R&D team.

Q What kind of growth are you looking at from India operations in the next couple of years?
We are anticipating India to be among our top growth markets in the coming years. Within the first month of operation, the demand for our products has more than surpassed the projected revenues. The scientific community has been very receptive, and we will continue to develop more resources and hire more Indian talent to support our customers.

Q How do you see the market for the range of products on offer from your company in India?
In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for our products that serve segments such as liquid chromatography - both HPLC and UHPLC - gas chromatography, solid phase extraction, sample preparation, preparative chromatography, bulk and process media, amino acid analysis, oligonucleotide purification and chiral chromatography to name a few. In all of these product lines, we offer technological advantages which will ensure continued adoption of our technologies in India.

Q India already has few players who have been offering technologies for separation sciences. What strategies do you have in place to compete with the existing players in the market?
Phenomenex is very unique in its business model and approach to customer care and service. Our existence depends directly on the complete satisfaction of our customers. Therefore, our commitment to providing the highest level of customer satisfaction and technical support will define the difference between Phenomenex and other market players.

From ultra fast product delivery, technical troubleshooting second to none, to on-site method development, I am confident that Phenomenex will set new benchmarks for customer satisfaction in the separation science industry within India as it has done elsewhere. Another critical difference is our investment into research and development to continually advance separation science technology. This is reflected in our huge range of separation science consumables, seven R&D100 award technologies, numerous patents and ISO 9001:2008 certified quality.

Q Of the range of industries that Phenomenex is serving, which industries according to you, will generate more returns for the company?
We serve several industries ranging from pharmaceuticals, life sciences, clinical and forensic toxicology, food safety, natural products, petrochemical-alternative fuels, and environmental among others. Obviously, pharma will be huge for us in India but we expect strong returns in all areas.

Q Do you feel India has the right atmosphere for conducting drug discovery research?
Enthusiasm and ingenuity are palpable throughout India. This type of atmosphere is ideal for the creative thinking required for drug discovery research. We are honored to work with the scientists in India who continually improve our world with innovative drug therapeutics.

Narayan Kulkarni