Transasia-Erba group to double R&D spending to Rs 200 cr

In-vitro diagnostic company, Transasia-Erba group on Tuesday said it is doubling its annual research and development (R&D) spend to Rs 200 crore as part of its growth strategy. The increased R&D spends will primarily focus on accelerating cutting-edge products currently in the pipeline in areas like molecular diagnostics, chemiluminiscence, it said in a statement.

At present, there are three companies globally who can offer a complete range of products to a clinical lab, it said. "The Transasia-Erba group is working to become the fourth company in the world to offer a complete line of IVD products. The company is betting on this as a key element of its strategy to post sustained double-digit growth year on year," it said.

In-vitro diagnostic market in India is likely to exceed USD 1.8 billion mark by 2025, while the global In- vitro diagnostic market currently exceeds USD 65 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.75 per cent to reach USD 94 billion by 2025. "In the last ten years, we spent Rs 1,500 crore in 14 overseas acquisitions, each of which comes with extensive R&D capabilities besides a proven product line. The recent success of the hematology range from Europe that we launched in India is a template we would like to replicate globally, particularly, in emerging markets which is our main focus.

This requires ongoing investments and of course we don't want to keep our eyes off the future," Transasia-Erba group chairman and managing director Suresh Vazirani said. "Continued investments in our R&D facilities across the world and in India to ensure we stay ahead of the curve is another reason behind the increased investments. We only expect the investments to grow in the years ahead," he added.

PTI DS AP AP.