By Kashish Tandon

BENGALURU (Reuters) -U.S.-based Waters Corp ( WAT ), which makes medical equipment used in clinical testing, has seen a spurt in demand from drugmakers in India rushing to develop their versions of popular weight-loss drugs, a senior executive told Reuters.

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and diabetes medicine Ozempic, goes off patent in India in 2026, paving the way for cheaper versions of the drugs.

Local drugmakers including Biocon, Cipla, Dr. Reddy's and Lupin have been racing to make generic versions of these drugs to grab a share of the global market estimated to be worth $150 billion in the next decade.

"India will be the leading player in GLP drugs as well because we are in generics and we have manufacturing facilities to support," said T. Anil Kumar, vice president of Water's India business, referring to the class of weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1 agonists.

Waters, based in Milford, Massachusetts, makes laboratory equipment, software and other tools used in clinical testing by drugmakers and biotech companies. Its India unit contributes about 8% to Waters' sales.

"A lot of work is coming to India... so I see this as an opportunity for us," Kumar said.

Waters is expecting revenue growth percentage in the double digits in India on the back of these growth drivers, he added.

Waters Corp ( WAT ) operates nine sites in India with over 430 employees. The company is headquartered in the tech hub of Bengaluru, where it also opened a Global Capability Center in 2023.

The company expects annual growth contribution of 70-100 basis points from its India business in the near-term and a 30 basis points boost from testing for GLP-1 drugs.

Last week, the company raised its annual profit forecast and reported better-than-expected quarterly results on higher demand in Asia and the Americas.