Read the Conversation
Meeting highlights:
- From Volume to Value: India is transitioning from volume-based to value-driven healthcare. Guerbet is aligning with this shift by strengthening its market position, addressing accessibility challenges, and prioritizing value and safety.
- Early Diagnosis & Patient Impact: Growing awareness of early diagnosis transforms healthcare in India, enabling the public to access the right treatments that genuinely enhance their quality of life.
- Global Standards with a Local Focus: Guerbet is committed to delivering the same high-quality care to Indian patients as it does worldwide while ensuring an affordable, locally adapted approach. Collaboration between the private and public sectors is further accelerating industry-wide innovation.
- Education as a Pillar of Growth: Over the past four years, Guerbet has launched five educational programs, reinforcing its commitment to knowledge-sharing and training as essential drivers of healthcare advancement.
- Talent & Leadership: India’s skilled workforce is one of its greatest strengths. As a leader, Guerbet takes pride in nurturing and showcasing this talent, further embedding value and safety at the heart of its mission.
EF: What mission have you set for yourself as the General Manager, and how are you prioritizing the expansion of Guerbet’s presence in India?
TG: India has traditionally been seen as a quantitative market. However, value has always played a role. Now, the focus must move more intentionally in that direction.
For us, India presents a tremendous opportunity, with a population of 1.4 billion but only around 10000 CT scan centers and 5,000–6,000 MRI scan centers. This gap highlights a significant unmet need. While there is clear growth potential, our focus remains on delivering value rather than just driving high volumes. Over the past four years, we have stayed committed to this philosophy, ensuring that everything we do contributes meaningfully to the healthcare ecosystem.
In 2020, we established Guerbet India as a subsidiary, moving beyond our previous presence through importers and distributors. This decision was driven by the need to be closer to end customers, uphold the highest safety standards, and deliver world-class products. Direct engagement with customers is a key factor in our expansion.
I joined the company that same year at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While much of the world was focused on managing the crisis, I was working to establish Guerbet India—an opportunity to contribute meaningfully during a challenging time.
Our core objective is to prioritize patients and customers. For over a century, our organization has been committed to developing high-quality innovations and enhancing the skills of healthcare professionals—whether technicians, radiographers, nurses, or doctors. We believe that healthcare must be integrated scientifically to achieve the best outcomes for patients, and significantly improving patient care naturally aligns with the implementation of best practices, fostering the growth of both the company and the country.
EF: How have you developed your growth strategy for India, and what role does the country play in your company’s global vision?
TG: Globally, the contrast media market is divided into two key segments: CT and MRI. The CT market is valued at $ 5 billion, while the MRI market stands at approximately $1 billion, both growing at an annual rate of 6.5% to 7%. Defining specific targets for India is still too early, but our ambition is clear. If we rank fourth globally in CT and second in MRI, there is no reason we cannot achieve similar success in India over time.
India presents significant potential as a high-volume market, with a larger scale than most other APAC countries. Over the past four years, we have worked towards patients receiving not just affordable care, but also safe, high-quality products. Our production facilities are located in France and the United States. Despite this, we can guarantee that a patient receives the same high-quality product in India as in all other countries, with price adjustments made to improve accessibility.
Government initiatives are making healthcare more accessible, and the formerly limited insurance coverage is growing. With the 2025 budget offering incentives for insurers, we expect increased competition, leading to price stability and broader coverage. This shift will help bridge the gap between insured and uninsured populations.
Another key opportunity lies in India’s increasing purchasing power. Urbanization is driving healthcare awareness, increasing demand for better treatment options. At the same time, advancements in technology, government programs, and corporate awareness campaigns encourage early diagnosis, especially in critical areas like cancer and acute diseases.
As a company specializing in diagnostics and contrast media, this focus on early detection aligns with our mission. Timely intervention leads to better treatment outcomes, shifting healthcare from a volume-driven model to a value-based one.
The Indian government has played a key role in driving this transformation by encouraging foreign direct investment and welcoming international companies, serving as a major catalyst for change.
EF: Where do you see future opportunities to leverage the country's talent and capabilities for global growth?
TG: When we entered India as a global organization, our goal was clear—to develop strong local capabilities. I started alone in 2020, laying the foundation, from building infrastructure to assembling a team. Today, I’m proud to lead a team of 28 professionals across finance, marketing, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance, and more. We have also built a strong field force and established a robust distribution network, working with 65 to 70 distributors across India, including Tier A and B cities.
Globally, our organization has always embraced talent from diverse backgrounds, valuing real expertise and integrating it into our core teams. While we operate in a multicultural environment, India has an abundance of underrated talent that deserves recognition. Our goal is to showcase these capabilities and demonstrate how we can do things differently with the available resources. On the manufacturing front, India has promising companies developing and producing contrast media locally, which is encouraging. More innovation is on the horizon, but ensuring quality through rigorous testing and benchmarking remains critical.
At Guerbet, we’ve adopted an open-door approach to evaluating the Indian market and identifying ways to create long-term value. With India’s strong push for the "Make in India" initiative, we see significant opportunities ahead. However, understanding the market dynamics is key—timing our decisions correctly and adapting to change will be essential for sustainable growth.
EF: Could you elaborate on your training or education programs in India aimed at expanding access and enhancing safety in this field?
TG: Over the past four years, we have launched five different programs in India under the umbrella of RISE (Radiology Information Scientific Exchange). One of the key programs under RISE is Guerbet Insights. This platform brings senior doctors together to discuss both successful and challenging cases, creating an open forum purely focused on science and learning. The goal is to share knowledge and apply it to improve patient care.
Our other key initiative, Guerbet Konnect, fosters collaboration within large hospitals by connecting different stakeholders within the department, allowing them to exchange best practices and enhance teamwork. We also have a dedicated medical team providing product knowledge and application support, ensuring doctors have the tools and protocols for better patient outcomes. Our flagship program, Guerbet Core Summit (GCS), brings together India’s top interventional radiologists for a two-day academic event. This summit helps them expand their expertise in interventional radiology while also exploring related specialties that can enhance their day-to-day practice.
We also support young doctors through “The Sirius,” the Brightest Star in the Sky, a program where they present their research papers in their respective regions. This program is conducted in collaboration with the IR societies in India. The winner from that region will compete with the winners across the other nine regions at the finale for the “The Sirius” title. The title winner receives a sponsorship for further education. Additionally, we recognize the critical role of radiographers in CT and MRI imaging through our Guerbet Radiology Meet (GRM), which highlights their importance in maintaining quality imaging standards.
Last year, on the 8th of November, we celebrated the 130th year of Radiology since its invention in a unique way. We organized an educational program across 12 cities, simultaneously on the same day at, the same time, emphasizing safety, skill, and time—three key pillars of medical practice. On Radiology Day, we engaged 1286 doctors and radiographers across 150 faculties, setting a Guinness World Record for the “largest radiology lesson multiple venues”. This achievement wasn’t just an organizational milestone but an educational milestone for the radiology community.
Promoting safety is not just about words—it requires action. And when that happens, recognition follows. Next month, we launch a nationwide initiative, SHIELD (Safety Hands in Every Leap of Department). This campaign is designed to ensure patient safety at every step. It will cover everything from product solutions to training programs for healthcare professionals, including infection control teams, radiographers, and other key stakeholders. It will integrate educational, application-based, and medical programs and is set to become a long-term initiative. As we enter our fifth year, safety and value remain the core pillars of our mission in India.
EF: As India transitions beyond being known as the "pharmacy of the world," what new identity or concept do you think India will represent in the future?
TG: I would call it an "innovation paradigm." Innovation in India has reached a point where adding safety and value is no longer optional. Previously, India was known as the pharmacy of the world, focusing on large-scale manufacturing. Now, we are shifting toward a model that prioritizes safety and value. This innovation paradigm shift not only reflects changes in the industry but also how India presents itself to the world.
EF: Do you have a final message for our readers?
TG: The transition phase of India is exciting and extremely promising for the country's future. As a multinational firm, we would do our part to ensure that the patient receives an affordable product while not compromising safety.
