This week the IVD industry is showcased at the Los Angeles Convention Center at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC). As evident here, the clinical diagnostic industry is growing; Kalorama's estimate of this market is that it has grown to 50 billion dollars, an increase of 6 billion dollars from two years ago when we did our last edition.
The growth in the industry is reflected in the size of the show; with two full exhibit halls and over 500 exhibitor companies, 20,000 people total, were at the AACC meeting industry has outgrown some of the smaller city convention centers and can only be held in the larger convention centers such as LA, Houston, Chicago or Atlanta.
This year as in other years, we are noticing a few trends that we will end up highlighting in our reports
-Diagnostic systems, particularly glucose meters attached to cell phone technology are being launched by many companies. The presence of a speaker who was a marathon runner using a continuous glucose meter, something that would be impossible for a diabetic with a standard treatment was noted.
-Big emphasis on IT systems. Major companies are competing on better IT systems in their core lab products and smaller IT companies have gone from small booth to big presence at this meeting.
-Molecular testing particularly for infectious diseases and HAI testing continue to dominate.
-Service and consulting remain viable products and are part of the offerings at major companies. OrthoClinical markets its instruments along with a ValueMetrix enhanced value consulting service to maximize productivity in lab operations.
-Continued increased presence from Chinese manufacturers competing with immunoanalyzers, hematology analyzers and other equipment.
-Beckman Coulter's large presence in the entrance of the meeting with video walls and several instruments on display indicates that it is continuing to dominate as a brand on its own despite the recent purchase by Danaher. Astronaut Mike Kelley, husband of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was a notable presence for floor traffic at this convention on Tuesday when he spoke about his experience with PSA testing.
