Originally
Published IVD Technology March 2002
Enthusiasm and industry
Doing
business in the IVD industry can be hard work. To bring their products to market,
manufacturers must overcome a wide variety of clinical, technological, regulatory,
and market obstacles—not to mention the inevitable challenges involved
in building market share and getting adequate reimbursement pricing.
It’s little wonder, then, that companies sometimes seem disheartened when
discussing their prospects for developing new products and making a big hit
in the marketplace. Even when projecting the rosiest possible scenarios, company
leaders are typically compelled to point out every possible obstacle that could
hinder their market success. In times like the present, when economic conditions
are less than optimal for the development and launch of new products, that tendency
can become overwhelming. No company wants to be caught overpromising its potential
to investors and other stakeholders.
By way of contrast, it was refreshing to hear the views of the University of
Louisville’s Jim Wittliff, PhD, MD hc, with whom I recently had a thoroughly
enjoyable conversation for the In Person
column in this issue. Wittliff collaborated in the development of the first
FDA-approved kits for assessing steroid-receptor levels in tumor biopsies, and
he is continuing to partner with industry to develop innovative approaches to
clinical diagnostics.
But what I found most remarkable about our conversation is Wittliff’s unbridled
enthusiasm for his own research and the potential of the field. While acknowledging
all of the obstacles that can hinder the commercialization of IVDs, Wittliff
voices an optimism that is heard all too rarely among manufacturers.
According to Wittliff, many IVD manufacturers are already active in scouting
for researchers whose work might be readily commercialized. Even so, there are
doubtless many other companies that would like to be in touch with such researchers,
but don’t know where to turn. For those companies, a good starting point
is to attend some of the key technical meetings sponsored by associations such
as the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the Clinical Ligand Assay
Society, the Endocrine Society, or the American Association for Cancer Research.
At such events, many of which appear in the Calendar section of each issue of
IVD Technology, manufacturers can hear presentations about work that is just
beginning to emerge from academic and clinical laboratories, or about product
ideas that are getting close to commercialization. That’s not a bad way
to start refilling a company’s product pipeline—and maybe also to
recapture some of the enthusiasm that can otherwise be lost in the shuffle of
day-to-day business.
Copyright ©2002 IVD Technology
