Key Points:
- Agilent is focusing on high-growth sectors including pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, clinical diagnostics, and applied markets while aligning its organization to better serve these areas.
- The company introduced new technologies such as the InfinityLab Pro iQ Series LC-MS systems and a compact 8850 GC compatible with single and triple quadrupole mass spectrometry to improve performance and versatility.
- Agilent reorganized into three main groups—Life Sciences & Diagnostics, Applied Markets, and CrossLab—to enhance innovation and customer responsiveness, along with shifting toward increased non-instrument revenue.
- The company is prioritizing miniaturization of instruments, integrating intelligent automation features, focusing on sustainability, and adapting to evolving customer demands for AI, higher throughput, and simpler data management.
At the 73rd American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) conference in Baltimore, Maryland, Agilent introduced new mass spectrometry (MS) technologies aimed at advancing critical sectors such as biopharmaceutical development and clinical diagnostics. The announcements were made during a joint press release and live press conference held on Monday at the event.
At ASMS, Agilent unveiled several key technologies, including the InfinityLab Pro iQ Series, which comprises the Pro iQ and Pro iQ Plus—liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) systems designed to support a wide range of applications, from small molecule analysis to complex biomolecules such as oligonucleotides, peptides, and proteins. Additionally, Agilent showcased the 8850 GC, a compact gas chromatography (GC) system now compatible with both single and triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, delivering high-speed performance in a small GC-MS format.
Jonah Kirkwood, Agilent’s chief commercial officer, highlighted the company’s strategic focus on high-growth areas and its commitment to working closely with customers across diverse applications to meet their evolving needs. The company has identified pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals, clinical and diagnostic markets, and applied markets as priority sectors.
Agilent has realigned its internal organization around these key market segments to enhance responsiveness to customer demands and sharpen innovation efforts. CEO Padraig McDonnell emphasized Agilent’s reorganization during the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference earlier this year. The company restructured into three main groups: the Life Sciences & Diagnostics Group (LDG), the Applied Markets Group (AMG), and the Agilent CrossLab Group, which focuses on consumables, services, software, and laboratory automation.
Simultaneously, the company is placing increased emphasis on expanding its product offerings, improving laboratory productivity tools, and advancing software and informatics solutions. These changes reflect broader industry pressures to deliver more integrated and efficient workflows amid rising competition and evolving customer expectations.
“We have been focused on bringing in top talent across the organization, all with the goal of driving strong long-term growth and double-digit earnings per share,” Kirkwood said. “We are really assessing our investments in R&D to bring the voice of the customer into our business units.”
Adapting to Evolving Customer Demands
At the ASMS press event, company representatives emphasized ongoing efforts to reduce the physical footprint of their technologies while integrating intelligent features to increase automation and streamline sample analysis. This push toward miniaturization reflects a wider industry trend aimed at making high-performance instrumentation more accessible and lab-friendly, especially as space and efficiency become greater concerns in both academic and industrial labs.
Alongside these technical advancements, the company also highlighted its growing commitment to sustainability, signaling that environmental considerations are becoming integral to product development. Sustainability is no longer a secondary concern but a parallel priority shaping the future of analytical instrumentation.
Customer expectations are evolving, particularly around smart technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, according to Angelica Riemann, senior vice president and president of Agilent’s CrossLab Group. “Customers’ expectations around software have changed,” Riemann said. They increasingly demand higher throughput, the ability to efficiently handle large datasets, and greater ease of use in their workflows.
The company plans to maintain close collaboration with customers to address critical challenges in areas such as GLP-1 analysis, nitrosamine detection, and antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) research, among others. Kirkwood noted that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly limited opportunities for in-person engagement with clients, disrupting traditional communication channels. Now that face-to-face interactions are resuming, the company is intensifying efforts to work directly with clients across industries to tackle their most pressing analytical needs.
