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Riding a new wave to growth
Those who are in charge of marketing diagnostic products frequently have in common the traits of vigilance, optimism, and wariness. Constantly in search of new market opportunities, they are vigilant in their efforts to discover them. Ever-confident about the capabilities of their products, they are optimistic about their chances for success in the marketplace. Mindful of the vagaries of the market, they are wary of competitive products and companies that can undo years of work in a single blow.
Over the past few years, the IVD market hasn't been exactly kind to these diligent souls. Dogged by ever-greater competition and increasing pressure for cost containment, marketing professionals might be forgiven if they have lost some of their enthusiasm for launching new products.
If the predictions of one recent market report come to pass, however, IVD manufacturers could find themselves on the threshold of a period of strong market growth. Issued in October by U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray (Minneapolis), Diagnostic Services Industry Overview: Leveraging the Lab Asset offers a welcome glimmer of hope for IVD marketers—sort of.
The report paints the picture of an expanding market for clinical laboratory testing services over the coming decade, which could also have beneficial effects for manufacturers of IVD tests. According to the report, new applications for diagnostics will be a major contributor to such growth. "The role of laboratory testing is expanding beyond diagnosis into virtually every facet of healthcare delivery, including detection of genetically based risk factors, evaluation of treatment options and effectiveness, and monitoring of patient health status," says the report.
The adoption of new technologies will also play a role in promoting growth. "Demand will be driven by continued development of new tests and therapies," the report adds. In particular, "developments in molecular genetics will lead to explosive growth in testing to determine whether specific therapies may be appropriate for specific patients. We also expect an increase in patient-driven demand for specific tests."
All of this growth sounds like a good thing—and maybe it is. But wary marketing professionals will be the first ones to observe that just because their clinical laboratory customers are making money doesn't necessarily mean that their own company will also do so. At present, for instance, it is hospital and other clinical laboratories—not manufacturers—that are conducting advertising campaigns to stimulate consumer-driven testing. And unless they are able to generate brand-specific testing demand, manufacturers could find themselves out in the cold, displaced by home-brew tests created by the labs themselves.
If a new wave of growth in laboratory testing is truly on the way, as the Piper Jaffray report argues, IVD marketing professionals will soon find their skills challenged in very new ways. Riding this wave to participate in market growth will require all the vigilance, optimism, and wariness that marketers have relied on in the past—and then some.
Steve Halasey
IVDT November table of contents | IVDT home page
