Originally Published IVD Technology March 2002
Industry News
EDMA issues final EU market figures
Richard Park
The European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association (EDMA; Brussels) has recently released its final revenue figures for the European IVD market in 2000. The figures change previously reported percentage growth rates of certain countries in 2000 compared with 1999 (see Table below).
According to John Place, EDMA's director general, the preliminary figures previously reported did not account for final adjustments made each year by the reporting countries. EDMA's final figures account for reestimated 1999 revenue figures based on 2000 currency exchange rates. "The 2000 percentage increases have changed because of revised 1999 estimates for Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, and Portugal," explains Place. "When these countries made their estimates for 2000, they also revised their 1999 figures.
"For example, early in 2000 the German association estimated the total market in 1999 to be 2869 million marks. But in early 2001, the 1999 estimate was revised to 2876 million marks. Therefore, the 2000 total showed an increase of 1.2% in relation to the original total for 1999, and 1.0% in relation to the revised estimate for 1999.
"For Denmark, however, the estimates are less accurate. Prior to 2000, the Danish market had been substantially underestimated, and the Danish association estimates that growth from 1999 to 2000 was about 4%."
The adjustments also affect previously reported variances between 1999 and 2000 in the following market categories: laboratory reagents (excluding rapid test), total laboratory market, rapid tests, and patient self-testing (see Tables 1 and 2). These changes were also due to recalculations of the 1999 revenue figures for these segments based on 2000 currency exchange rates.
"The 2000 exchange rates were used to correct the 1999 totals when calculating the variance from 1999 to 2000," says Place. "Some exchange rates were fixed (e.g., all the countries that are now in the euro system), while others changed. Especially affected by changing rates was the United Kingdom, whose exchange rate increased by more than 8%."
In a press release that accompanied the final revenue figures, EDMA officials said that while the European IVD market is on an upswing, it has yet to achieve its full potential. "It seems that the market is recovering from the weak performance from 1992 to 1998, but it has still not reached the consistent growth that can support a growing industry sector. The result is continuing industry consolidation," the release stated.
According to the press release, current market conditions show that certain segments are performing better than others, with various factors affecting the market in different ways.
"The tendency by product group is similar to previous years, showing very strong growth for rapid tests, including self-tests, combined with weak or negative growth for many laboratory tests," stated the release. "Opinions are that the number of tests performed appears to be growing, but seems more than offset by decreases in average price per test."
Despite these challenges, EDMA officials are generally optimistic about the future of the European IVD market.
"The market for most of these tests is expected to continue to grow strongly in the coming years, especially in the cases of diabetes testing and cardiac markers, where authorities have become convinced of the economic and clinical advantages of in vitro testing," the release stated. "This reinforces the continuing need for industry and clinical laboratories to create awareness of the value of in vitro testing, not only for early and correct diagnosis but also in the monitoring of treatment that the individual patient receives."
The results of EDMA's report on the 2000 European IVD market are available via the association's Web site at http://www.edma-ivd.be.
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