By Kashish Tandon

BENGALURU, May 15 (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.