Originally Published IVD Technology
March 2004
EDITOR'S PAGE
Tapping into academia
One of the keys to success and survival in the IVD industry is innovation. Without the ability to introduce new products continually to the market, an
IVD company is unlikely to remain competitive and is likely to become obsolete.
One way IVD companies can continue to come up with new products is by investing in research and development. However, finding the resources to devote to developing new products can be challenging. One resource that is often difficult to come by is qualified scientific experts. Such experts are responsible for conducting the clinical research that begins the process of developing new diagnostic products.
Unfortunately, with difficult economic conditions still lingering, IVD companies have been forced to reduce costs. These cost reductions have resulted in cutting back on staff expenditures, including scientific research staff. Consequently, with such limited resources in-house, companies have had to find other sources of scientific expertise to continue their R&D efforts.
One available source for conducting clinical research may be found in academia. For example, clinicians at universities and academic institutions are conducting research to identify new biomarkers and demonstrate their clinical validity. Once such clinicians have discovered and validated such targets, they look for opportunities to develop such markers into viable commercial products.
This is where IVD companies can step into the picture. Companies can work with academic researchers to develop their discoveries further into new diagnostic products. In this issue of IVD Technology, Hans-Juergen Loyda, group marketing manager for reagents, clinical chemistry, and immunoassays at Roche Diagnostics, brings up this point in the “In Person” interview, “Putting new assays to the test” (page 38). In the interview, Loyda discusses not only the current prospects in assay development but also the overall important role of clinicians in the process of conducting research and development.
Such collaboration between the IVD industry and academia is discussed in the article by author Svetlana Dambinova, a visiting professor at Emory University. In her article, “A new brain marker for laboratory assessment of TIA and stroke” (page 43), she discusses her research to identify a brain marker for assessing the risk of stroke. She has also been working with an IVD company to develop this marker into a diagnostic product and bring it to market.
If an IVD company is encountering difficulties finding the resources to conduct clinical research in an effort to develop new products, try looking no further than the local university. It’s possible that research is already being done in one’s own backyard that could lead to the development of new diagnostic products.
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