Pharmaceutical stocks start in the laboratory. But not all laboratories are successful. But all laboratories need equipment.
Laboratory equipment is only a small part of the work done by TMO. The real income comes from consumables (culture media, reagents, etc.), which account for more than 50% of its income. Instrumentation is only ~20%. Pharmaceutical companies need large amounts of materials to manufacture and process their products year after year. Having said that, TMO is a good buy and hold stock. They will never disappear and will continue to expand through acquisitions to cover the entire pharmaceutical supply chain.
Fun fact: They also own Nalgene, which is a popular water bottle brand....