Interview with Udit Batra, President and CEO, EMD Millipore

ER: I am aware that there have been many exciting business developments within EMD Millipore* in the past year, including your appointment as CEO and President. I trust that our discussion will give our audience a better perspective into these developments.

UB: Yes, it has certainly been an exciting time for both EMD Millipore (the North American reference for Merck Millipore in the U.S. and Canada) and for me personally.

ER: First, I wanted to ask—what is your technical background? What previous professional experiences do you feel have geared you for your new role?

Dr. Udit Batra, Ph.D.

UB: It is a privilege to share this information with your readers. I have been in the role of President and CEO of Merck’s Life Sciences business, EMD Millipore, for six months. In addition to my technical training, the chance to work and be educated in different countries as well as gain experience in various functions like R&D, marketing and sales, medical affairs, manufacturing, and strategy helps with my role.

I studied Chemical Engineering as an undergraduate at the University of Delaware and received my Ph.D. from Princeton University. I spent five years in R&D at a pharmaceutical company, which gave me a technical foundation.

After my time in R&D, I moved into management consulting at McKinsey. Subsequently, I spent time at Johnson & Johnson and Novartis, working in various functions, including marketing and strategy. I served as the Head of Strategy at Novartis and later, Country Head in Australia.

Following my time there, I joined the Novartis vaccines unit in Cambridge, MA, focusing on marketing, medical affairs, market access, and government affairs.

About three years ago, I received a call from Merck in Darmstadt, Germany, with the invitation to head up their Consumer Health Division. This role allowed me to gain additional global management experience and join an outstanding organization where I could leverage my various experiences. Then recently, six months ago to be precise, I was asked to head EMD Millipore, the Life Sciences Division of Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany.

I must mention that I was fortunate to see much of the world starting from a young age. I was born in India and studied in the U.K. and Nigeria before moving to the U.S. at 15. I have been able to work in Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan, providing me exposure and experiences in diverse markets. This global perspective and many opportunities to interact with people from around the world, in leading companies throughout the globe, helps me appreciate various points of view more easily.

ER: As part of your new role with EMD Millipore, what can you tell our readers about what is new, as well as what is on the horizon for EMD’s international outreach? How is EMD conducting business overseas and merging with its North American market?

UB: Our parent company, Merck KGaA, is head quartered in Darmstadt, Germany, and is truly a global organization, with approximately 75% of our business at EMD Millipore coming from outside the United States. EMD Millipore (the North American reference for Merck Millipore in the U.S. and Canada) is one of the divisions of the Merck Group. Our goal is to be a leading provider of life science products and technologies for laboratories, bioprocessing, and pharmaceutical operations—and providing customers innovations with our products, interfaces, and services is at the core of everything we do.

For the first few months of my tenure, I focused on listening and learning by meeting with employees and customers and examining our strategy to go forward, building upon EMD Millipore’s decades of success.

First, our strategy begins with assessing the attractiveness of the market. The market in which we compete is large (~$40B) and attractive, and it is growing at about 5% per year. This is partly due to increasing R&D pipelines in global markets, especially on the laboratory side. On the processing side of our business, there is substantial growth in the development of biologics manufacturing. Leaders in our industry command high margins due to high barriers to entry.

Second, we examined how we have been performing. EMD Millipore has been growing year-on-year, in line with the market, and showing profits, a result of our strong product portfolio. We enjoy a geographical advantage— with business in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. We have a truly global footprint, allowing us to launch products worldwide, effectively reaching customers wherever they may be.

Third, we seek to understand what it takes to succeed in this market and maintain a robust strategy. In the laboratory segment, we maintain a broad and attractive offering for our customers with destination items within our portfolio. We also emphasize a simple user interface that allows customers to select products with ease. We have about one million customers and we strive to maintain simplicity for them. Finally, it is important for our organization to be able to deal with complexity. As we go forward, these are the points we continue to emphasize in maintaining a robust strategy.

On the processing side, we seek to have a highly technical team that actually collaborates with our customers. Offering a wide, easily accessible selection of products in emerging markets gives us the value of being a “one-stop” shop. These customers want a complete solution and they rely on us to implement it correctly and efficiently. These are a few of the fundamental success factors that we have identified.

So, we know how to succeed—then, where do we go next? First, we built a robust portfolio by performing comprehensive analyses. On the processing and laboratory sides, we felt we needed to improve offerings in analytical reagents and antibodies, for example. We also need to address a gap in cell culture media on the processing side by adding a quality selection of new products.

Secondly, we desire to simplify the customer interface and offer an organization that understands the complexity of the lab business. This is reflected in our e-commerce platform and a reliable delivery and distribution system.

Finally, our desire to expand further into the North American research market came with the need to enhance our portfolio, capabilities, and a global footprint.

ER: As quite the newsworthy point, Merck KGaA recently announced an intent to acquire Sigma-Aldrich. Can you provide our readers any details about how this will aff ect sales channels and distribution of Sigma-Aldrich products?

UB: First, let me mention that we have only announced the potential acquisition at this point and we expect to close the transaction mid-year 2015. Until then, both companies operate as separate companies. With that as a backdrop, let me reinforce what we stated at the time of the announcement—e-commerce, distribution, and supply chain logistics are very strong points for Sigma-Aldrich and key aspects for the Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany business. This proposed acquisition will greatly expand our global reach by creating a highly complementary transaction for the product lines of both companies. Through the pending acquisition, we could now offer an expanded product portfolio (e.g., in labs with antibodies and cell culture media in process solutions), complementary capabilities (e.g., product innovation combined with world-class e- commerce and digital capabilities), and geographic breadth (e.g., access to the North American and U.S. market for labs). The customer experience will be enhanced—the customer interface and supply chain will be able to manage 300,000 products—all deliverable within 24 hours. Truly incredible for our teams and for our customers.

We have a very complementary culture and business on many levels. One-third of both EMD Millipore and Sigma-Aldrich staff have a technical background. Merck has a history spanning over three centuries, with a legacy for making communities and local ecosystems better wherever they are located. Merck contributes to sustainable enterprises and community enrichment—and Sigma-Aldrich is similar in this regard.

ER: Reflecting back on your technical background, how did you utilize EMD Millipore products in your own previous experiences?

UB: While working on my doctorate at Princeton, like many researchers, I used the Millex 0.2 μm filters to separate particles >200 nm and to detect particles sized between 10 and 100 nm. The “yellow” 0.2 micron filter was “instrumental” in helping me get my Ph.D., so in a sense, I was happy to be “back home” when I joined EMD Millipore six months ago. Also, you cannot miss our world-class laboratory water filtration systems, such as Milli-Q, among our other offerings. EMD Millipore products helped me a great deal during my research and professional development.

ER: How are you relying upon your previous career experiences, such as your work around Merck’s Consumer Health Division, for your current role?

UB: Many of my experiences with the Merck Consumer Health Division are directly applicable to my current role at EMD Millipore. In fact, two experiences are quite directly relevant. These are having an attractive brand and having the product available in the correct setting without much complexity.

Udit Batra speaking at Bedford, MA, location.

The knowledge and the education I obtained in developing brand and brand identities within Consumer Health are tremendously helpful for my current endeavors within our organization. In my current role, I spend significant time to dissect consumer or in our cases customer experiences. For example, how do people shop? This informs how we should design our interfaces to make them simple for our customers to conduct business with us; similar to what you see in a store where a consumer shops, we at EMD Millipore need to seek to create destination items in a similar way. Within the laboratory, consumers might be looking for a Millex filter, but also be looking for an HPLC accessory or reagents—we need to understand the role of the supply chain and the connection between our product portfolio and the customer purchasing process.

Brands are just as relevant in our business as in consumer health care. Millipore, Milli-Q, and EMD are synonymous with quality.

ER: What are some of the growing business units and business developments at EMD Millipore?

UB: Emerging markets are important for us. In particular, we are seeing attractive developments in South Korea, China, Russia, and Turkey—all of these markets have been growing in excess of 15% per year.

Developed markets such as Singapore are also contributing to growth overseas, particularly with the increased development and production of the biologics market in the Asia region.

Specifically, one trend that we are seeing is the increased use of disposable bioreactors. The disposable products have consistently shown growth, also in excess of 15% in the past few years. There is a growing need for use of disposable equipment in all units and stages of the manufacturing operation, including both downstream and upstream processing. This approach requires different types of filters, and different needs for disposable bioreactors.

Bioburden monitoring in the food and beverage as well as pharmaceutical environments is also a growing market: We have seen growth in excess of 10% over the last few years.

ER: Recently, as you mentioned, Merck KGaA announced their intent to acquire Sigma-Aldrich. Can you provide our readers a bit of insight into this transaction?

Merck KGaA in 1668 and in 2014.

UB: We just announced the potential acquisition, so please be aware that there are shareholder approval from Sigma-Aldrich and antitrust processes that must occur. The boards on both sides of each company have approved the transaction and we expect to close the transaction by the middle of 2015.

From a portfolio standpoint, we complement each other’s portfolios quite nicely. Sigma-Aldrich’s e-commerce and supply chain capabilities are a wonderful asset. Geographically, we would also augment our business in North America, particularly in research.

ER: With the Sigma-Aldrich acquisition, what will change from the branding perspective?

UB: The beauty is that we have a great set of brands within EMD Millipore and Sigma-Aldrich. We will maintain the identity of these brands for our customers as they associate quality and reliability with them. Merck KGaA has performed many brand acquisitions and has maintained brand equity while integrating many other businesses over the years. As previously mentioned, there are over three centuries’ worth of legacy for the Merck KGaA brands and we will work to maintain the important brand equity in the marketplaces.

ER: On a more light-hearted note, is there any news on what will happen to the traveling Sigma-Aldrich Lamborghini?

UB: A red one, I’m sure! Have you ridden in it?

ER: No, I have not been in it. But I am not sure I can ride in it without getting in trouble.

UB: I have not seen it, but I look forward to getting close to it. It will be a discussion of what color it will be going forward: half red, half blue? Perhaps that will be the only change!

ER: It’s a popular object of admiration for many of our readers at conferences. It’s typically in the center of Sigma’s booth. We hope to see it going forward. Circling back to EMD Millipore’s history of product safety and quality, can you tell us about some of the ways that EMD Millipore reinforces its reputation for product safety and quality, from the manufacturing to the delivery standpoint?

UB: The Merck Group started out as a pharmacy in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1668. This is important to mention because it reflects on our centuries-old,ground-up approach to quality and safety. We do not regard the products that we produce as “eventual” medicines that patients will take; instead, we are involved in the entire process. Many of our quality processes are monitored by the same standards to which our pharmaceutical customers are held. Regulatory agencies such as the FDA routinely inspect some of our plants. We have invested quite a bit in this over the years, and you will see an emphasis on quality at our facilities. We take quality extremely seriously, as we are aware that our products are going in the production of life-saving medicines.

ER: Finally, do you have any inspirational messages for our readers, the users of your company’s products, and, ultimately, all those whose work affects research and results for millions of people? What should our scientists and aspiring scientists focus on as they desire to make a global impact on patient care?

UB: It is a privilege and honor to be able to do the work that I do today. I have to thank my family, mentors, my professors, and all those along the journey who have given me the opportunity. I also must thank Merck KGaA for the opportunity to join Consumer Health and now to lead this growing Life Sciences Division.

Next, although there is much luck, I must say there are a few factors that I personally believe in. First, to quote the great Louis Pasteur, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” I truly believe this. There is a lot of luck involved in achievement, but you must prepare, prepare, and prepare.

The second quote that captures how I think is one by Mahatma Gandhi: “Strength comes not from physical capacity, but from an indomitable will.” Once prepared, focus on implementation of your ideas. These quotes inspire me and reflect the concepts my family has helped to engrain in me over the years. They keep me going.

Finally: Be true to problem solving. Our company and culture is about problem solving for engineers and scientists. My dream is that any scientist looking to solve a problem comes to our company.

My messages are simple. Do not give up your curiosity. Focus on problem solving. In doing so, prepare, prepare, prepare—and, once prepared, be confident and have the conviction to stay to your beliefs and execute.

ER: Those are very great messages. Problem solving and persistence are themes that I emphasize for our American Laboratory readers. I agree that not giving up on curiosity is critical to keeping with persistence.

UB: This resonates with me.

Emilia Raszkiewicz is Managing Editor, American Laboratory; [email protected]

*EMD Millipore (the North American reference for Merck Millipore in the U.S. and Canada)

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