Driving Innovation While Navigating Global Pressures: How One Life Science Company Is Evolving With the Market

As global scientific and regulatory landscapes shift, companies across the life sciences sector are under growing pressure to adapt. For Phenomenex, a global leader in separation sciences, that means taking a proactive approach to economic volatility, customer collaboration and product innovation.

Adapting to economic pressures

Recent changes to United States (US) tariffs and international trade policies are being felt throughout the life sciences industry, and Phenomenex is no exception. Increased costs of raw materials and cross-border logistics have introduced new complexities in maintaining cost-effective operations.

“With today’s interconnected global supply chains, no matter where you manufacture your products, you will be subject to some form of tariffs in the current environment.” Dr. Kaveh Kahen, president, explained. In conversation with Technology Networks at the recent International Symposium on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques (HPLC 2025) in Bruges, he continued “We are experiencing some raw material cost inflation due to tariffs, but we are actively managing it to keep our prices competitive and minimize the impact on our customers.” Strategies to offset these pressures include supply chain optimization and avoiding unnecessary international shipping that can trigger duplicate tariff charges.

Innovation aligned with real-world needs

A defining feature of Phenomenex’s approach is its close alignment with customer needs, particularly in how it prioritizes R&D efforts. Several recent product launches reflect this philosophy.

A notable example is the company’s new microflow HPLC columns, which support greener and more sensitive chromatography workflows. “The number one way that you can make your high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) greener is to use a smaller column internal diameter,” Dr. Jason Anspach, director of research and open innovation, said. “You use less organic solvent by default, but you also consume less of your sample… If you can get that same amount of information with less sample consumption, you can bring products to market with significantly reduced cost.”

Another launch, the Biozen column line, was developed in response to customer demand for workflows compatible with mass spectrometry (MS). “The current solution – hydrophobic interaction chromatography – uses a lot of salt in the mobile phase, which makes it incompatible with MS detection,” Dr. Anspach noted. “Customers asked if we could devise a chromatographic phase that can be directly coupled with MS, so we created two new patent-pending stationary phases capable of separating intact drug antibody ratio (DAR) and isomer characterization using MS-compatible mobile phase conditions.”

In addition to hardware innovations, Phenomenex has upgraded its e-commerce platform to provide a smoother, more intuitive purchasing experience. “Our ultimate goal is to provide a seamless e-commerce experience for our customers – one that matches the convenience and ease they have come to expect from companies like Amazon in the consumer space,” Dr. Kahen stated, highlighting efforts to streamline product access and reordering for scientists in the US and Canada, with expansion into Europe underway.

Staying close to the customer

Understanding customer needs doesn’t stop at the product development stage. Phenomenex maintains a strong emphasis on face-to-face engagement and collaborative problem solving.

“Our philosophy is to take care of our customers, and that's by being present as much as possible in their labs and understanding their needs,” Dr. Kahen shared. While the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily disrupted in-person visits, the company has renewed its commitment to physical interaction as a key learning tool. Business development and account managers are closely embedded with customer teams, helping shape product development through real-world feedback.

The Open Innovation Team plays a strategic role in staying ahead of emerging trends by working directly with academic researchers and early adopters. “We collaborate with thought leaders to understand the trends in the market,” Dr. Anspach explained. “The open innovation team supports the acceleration of research in new innovative technologies and by assisting them in their technology development.”

Support for academic and early-stage research varies based on need. “We are currently supporting and collaborating with researchers at a number of universities across the globe,” Dr. Anspach added, pointing to examples where Phenomenex scientists help to facilitate material analysis to help with stationary phase development.

Addressing market demands: From PFAS to clinical LC-MS

In application-focused markets, Phenomenex continues to evolve its portfolio to meet growing regulatory and technical demands.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) analysis has become a major growth driver, galvanized by its expansion beyond water testing into food, packaging and industrial applications. “Evidence linking PFAS exposure to cancer continues to emerge,” Dr. Kahen explained. To address analytical interference, the company has developed a PFAS-free consumables portfolio and is launching delay columns designed to help distinguish between system peaks and sample signals.

With support from SCIEX, a Danaher sister company, Phenomenex can offer a full solution for PFAS testing, combining advanced instrumentation and consumables to meet the strictest analytical requirements.

In the clinical space, growing liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) adoption is shaping product development as well. The team referenced recent regulatory clarity around lab-developed tests (LDTs) in the US and the growing emphasis on in vitro diagnostic regulation (IVDR)-compliant solutions in Europe. “We want to ensure we stay ahead of evolving regulatory requirements and remain ready to serve our customers,” Dr. Kahen said, noting that regulatory trends often shift quickly and require flexible planning.

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Among therapeutic areas, GLP-1 analogs and other weight-loss drugs are emerging as a dominant force in pharmaceutical markets. “In that space, we are seeing double-digit growth across the board, and we have perfect solutions for that market both for peptide purification and for analytical testing needs,” he added.

Looking globally

As demand for analytical tools grows in emerging markets, Phenomenex is expanding its geographic reach. India has become a particular focus. “We are expanding our presence in India, adding resources, putting in more lab space and developing a global application development center,” Dr. Kahen said. “The markets we serve, along with our workflow solutions, are experiencing tremendous growth in India – something that is clearly evident every time I visit our customers there.”

A future fueled by AI and collaboration

Looking ahead, Phenomenex is exploring how AI can support both internal operations and external applications. “We are working on AI in many different ways… both in terms of internal enablement and optimization of our processes, as well as working on some new AI-enabled solutions for our customers,” they shared.

In combining customer engagement, innovation and market responsiveness, Phenomenex aims to stay ahead of the curve in analytical science. Whether through green HPLC innovations, PFAS-free solutions or AI-powered workflows, the company is positioning itself not just to respond to challenges, but to help shape the future of the industry.

This content includes text that has been generated with the assistance of AI. Technology Networks' AI policy can be found here.