Give us an overview of Freudenberg Medical’s presence and growth in India over the years. Where does India fit into the company’s global strategy for the future?
Freudenberg Medical has been serving biopharma customers directly, and with the help of a few distributors in India for the past few years, supplying standard and custom silicone tubings and fluid-handling products from our dedicated manufacturing sites in Germany and the US. In 2020, Freudenberg added a support team in India to meet the growing sales and service needs of biopharma customers in the region. Freudenberg Medical’s parent company, the Freudenberg Group, has held business ties with customers in India since 1920. Freudenberg Medical also manufactures products for medical device customers in India with custom tubing for oxygenators, ventilators, catheters and other medical devices.
With the explosive growth in global biologics production, which includes vaccines and cell and gene therapy, Freudenberg is able to support customers worldwide from two like for like manufacturing sites outfitted with the same top of the line-manufacturing equipment, software and quality systems.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant shifts across businesses. What were the major transformations that Freudenberg Medical witnessed?
Freudenberg saw a surge of demand of silicone tubing and single-use custom assemblies and the challenges for suppliers, like us, to meet the demand in a reasonable timeframe.
What are the revenue targets, growth targets for the lifesciences business in Freudenberg Medical in India and what are the strategies to achieve these targets?
We cannot share specific details but we are constantly strengthening our presence in India to achieve our growth objectives through a combination of distribution partners, OEMs and end users of biopharma industry
What are the major lessons your organisation learnt from this health crisis and its management? How will it impact your future offerings and capabilities development for the life sciences sector?
Like all major organisations, one of the major learnings is about sustainability and security of supply of critical components and ingredients required to manufacture life-saving drugs and vaccines. We will further nourish and scale up our strategy of offering various products and technology solutions through our dedicated manufacturing and R&D sites.
What will be the next frontiers for Freudenberg Medical? What is the blueprint to achieve them?
Freudenberg is planning to introduce several new products in 2022 focussed on the fluid-handling space for biopharma. These include extensions of our current PharmaFocus product line plus a new product line. Stay tuned or further announcements in upcoming months.
What are you showcasing at CPhI this year, and what are your expectations from the event?
Freudenberg will be presenting the PharmaFocus Premium brand of silicone tubing which are extractables tested with a full validation package, perfect for demanding biopharmaceutical applications with standard, braid reinforced and peristaltic pump tubing. Also on display, the HelixMark brand of fluid handling products for medical device and pharmaceutical applications. This product line is available off the shelf in a wide array of product types and sizes, including a choice of silicone raw materials from all the major manufacturers.
At CPhI, we plan to meet with current customers as well as introduce our product offerings and innovations to the ever-evolving Indian pharma and biopharma industry.