Bad news for SurModics: as this Twin Cities Business News article details, the company is suffering from difficulties from its medical device business, particularly their stent coatings. The company will cut its staff by 9%.
This is a critical transition for SurModics to implement the components of our strategic plan that focus and position our business for maximum long-term success,” President and CEO Gary Maharaj said in a statement. “Importantly, we expect to maintain our commitment to R&D investment to drive growth opportunities in our core medical device and in vitro diagnostics businesses.
But we note that the negative impact is largely in the device business. We can expect based on their statement that Sur Modics will focus on an industry where it remains competitive -such as its IVD area, particularly its protein and array slide products.
Monday, August 29, 2011
White Paper on HAI: A Big Problem, Why Not A Big Business?
Nosocomial, or healthcare treatment-acquired infections (broadly labeled as 'hospital-acquired infections") are a growing problem. So why haven't they been a great business for pharmaceutical companies? Why are declines expected in sales this year?
Hospital Acquired Infections are a serious concern of healthcare and they should be a major concern of pharmaceutical drug development. However only a fraction of new drugs that have been approved are treating this scourge. At the same time, a number of key brands are declining in sales. This White Paper looks into the situation in 2009, what might happen in next few years, and the one exception to the trend that might point in a new direction for HAI treatments.
Download Free White Paper on HAI Treatments
Hospital Acquired Infections are a serious concern of healthcare and they should be a major concern of pharmaceutical drug development. However only a fraction of new drugs that have been approved are treating this scourge. At the same time, a number of key brands are declining in sales. This White Paper looks into the situation in 2009, what might happen in next few years, and the one exception to the trend that might point in a new direction for HAI treatments.
Download Free White Paper on HAI Treatments
Interesting take on Jobs resignation..
Interesting Article at 'Market Research Beat' on Steve Jobs. We share the opinion that his was a rare success of someone who eschewed market research. At Kalorama we've seen business executives in the healthcare industries make acquisitions, launch new products, or quash unprofitable products and divisions based on our secondary and primary research reports.
Friday, August 26, 2011
New FISH test for Abbott
Cytology was once a low-attention area of IVD. This is no longer the case. FISH testing is one of the fastest growing categories in in vitro diagnostics. Kalorama has observed this trend over the past decade. Abbott has remained competitive here, but new types of testing products will be the important determinant of future growth. Today's news finds an example of an approval of an Abbott leukemia probe kit.
FDA Clears Genetic FISH Panel
FDA Clears Genetic FISH Panel
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Will China Capture the IVD Market?
As noted in Red Sky Health, the considerable Chinese presence at the AACC’s LabExpo 2011 (some 55 companies) has some companies questioning if Chinese IVD companies will take over the IVD industry in the same manner that the “Made in China” label pervades consumer products? Yes and no according to our analyst Shara Rosen.
http://redskyhealth.tumblr.com/
Global markets are highly competitive, Chinese companies are relatively new exporters especially compared to its BRIC companion India. Also China’s domestic market may become extremely more lucrative and attractive for home made products.
In 2011, China will enter its 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015). The development goals, directions and industry strategies emphasize the need to fix the perception of China as a comparatively backward nation in technological terms. The government is also cognizant of the huge economic disparities and has turned its attention to increasing its people's prosperity. It plans to do this by placing far greater emphasis on internal markets and domestic demand than ever before. In the healthcare sector, the most obvious strategy is to encourage local companies to take advantage of the country's huge domestic market, which amounts to some 60,000 – 80,000 potential lab customers.
The 12th Five-Year Plan also sets out seven major new strategic industries (healthcare and biotechnology included), for which investment is projected to reach 10 trillion Chinese Yuan over the next five years. The result is expected to be an unprecedented effort to support domestic companies.
The Plan’s strategy in relation to medical devices and IVD products purports to: increase the development of China-made medical equipment; to implement centralized procurement; and to purchase domestic medical devices.
On the demand side, China has announced initiatives to strengthen health services in the interior and rural regions and the thousands of low-tiered hospitals.
So yes, “Made in China” may become ubiquitous in some low-end IVD product segments, worldwide. However, it is more likely that it will take a monumental effort in quality improvement and especially competitive pricing strategies for Chinese companies to create a huge splash in the largest and most lucrative markets in developed countries.
http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Emerging-Vitro-Diagnostics-6196828/
http://redskyhealth.tumblr.com/
Global markets are highly competitive, Chinese companies are relatively new exporters especially compared to its BRIC companion India. Also China’s domestic market may become extremely more lucrative and attractive for home made products.
In 2011, China will enter its 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015). The development goals, directions and industry strategies emphasize the need to fix the perception of China as a comparatively backward nation in technological terms. The government is also cognizant of the huge economic disparities and has turned its attention to increasing its people's prosperity. It plans to do this by placing far greater emphasis on internal markets and domestic demand than ever before. In the healthcare sector, the most obvious strategy is to encourage local companies to take advantage of the country's huge domestic market, which amounts to some 60,000 – 80,000 potential lab customers.
The 12th Five-Year Plan also sets out seven major new strategic industries (healthcare and biotechnology included), for which investment is projected to reach 10 trillion Chinese Yuan over the next five years. The result is expected to be an unprecedented effort to support domestic companies.
The Plan’s strategy in relation to medical devices and IVD products purports to: increase the development of China-made medical equipment; to implement centralized procurement; and to purchase domestic medical devices.
On the demand side, China has announced initiatives to strengthen health services in the interior and rural regions and the thousands of low-tiered hospitals.
So yes, “Made in China” may become ubiquitous in some low-end IVD product segments, worldwide. However, it is more likely that it will take a monumental effort in quality improvement and especially competitive pricing strategies for Chinese companies to create a huge splash in the largest and most lucrative markets in developed countries.
http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Emerging-Vitro-Diagnostics-6196828/
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Orthopedic Biomaterials Rise
As Healthcare Finance News mentions in this interview with them, orthopedic device makers are eschewing the competitive and lower margin hip and knee implant market and focusing on biomaterials as a growth area. It is not without its problems, such as the Stryker and Medtronic BMP cases, but these companies have found the supplemental growth useful.
http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/kalorama-big-growth-predicted-biomaterials-market
http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/kalorama-big-growth-predicted-biomaterials-market
Thursday, July 28, 2011
AACC Meeting Round Up
Each Year Kalorama Information attends the American Association for Clinical Chemistry meeting. This year it was held in Atlanta, GA. and a team from Kalorama Information attended and talked to hundreds of exhbitiors.
Besides being wowed by the amount of roads with the name 'Peachtree' and the great food that the city offers, we found the following noteworthy about AACC 2011.:
• Vitamin D deficiency testing was heavily pushed at AACC and its an area, along with several other 'nutranostic' categories that we expect to see growth in.
• The prevalence of IT sections in all the major players’ booths (Siemens, Roche, Abbott, Beckman, etc.). There appeared to be a push there for these peripheral services from add-on automation to informatics and IT integration etc., perhaps as a way to cover for their lack of any revolutionary advancements in the rest of their product portfolios.
• I believe there were 17 companies showing from China. Even two or three years ago, Mindray was the major company represented; now there are lots.
• We were surprised to note the absence of bioMerieux from the exhibit hall this year. As some may recall, they have almost always had a significant presence at AACC. Not sure what impacted the decision.
• Some interesting little cell diagnostics companies showing new circulating tumor cell methods (some employing techniques that do not use flow cytometry). I thought Rarecyte (www.rarecyt.com) was a fascinating young company to watch.
• Danaher seems to be keeping the brand identity for their purchased companies and not immediately incorporating them into the Danaher name ala Siemens. Beckman Coulter, for instance still had a large presence under its own name.
Besides being wowed by the amount of roads with the name 'Peachtree' and the great food that the city offers, we found the following noteworthy about AACC 2011.:
• Vitamin D deficiency testing was heavily pushed at AACC and its an area, along with several other 'nutranostic' categories that we expect to see growth in.
• The prevalence of IT sections in all the major players’ booths (Siemens, Roche, Abbott, Beckman, etc.). There appeared to be a push there for these peripheral services from add-on automation to informatics and IT integration etc., perhaps as a way to cover for their lack of any revolutionary advancements in the rest of their product portfolios.
• I believe there were 17 companies showing from China. Even two or three years ago, Mindray was the major company represented; now there are lots.
• We were surprised to note the absence of bioMerieux from the exhibit hall this year. As some may recall, they have almost always had a significant presence at AACC. Not sure what impacted the decision.
• Some interesting little cell diagnostics companies showing new circulating tumor cell methods (some employing techniques that do not use flow cytometry). I thought Rarecyte (www.rarecyt.com) was a fascinating young company to watch.
• Danaher seems to be keeping the brand identity for their purchased companies and not immediately incorporating them into the Danaher name ala Siemens. Beckman Coulter, for instance still had a large presence under its own name.
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