Medical Device Link.

Originally Published IVD Technology September 2004

INDUSTRY NEWS

Sales revenues in million € for 14 European IVD markets in 2003. These markets totaled €7.37 billion. Source: European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association (Brussels) (click to enlarge).

Continued strong gains in the sales of patient self-testing products and rapid tests helped the European IVD market to post growth in 2003. 

According to a report released by the European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association (EDMA; Brussels), sales of laboratory testing products in Europe grew by 5.6% in 2003, a slight decrease compared to the 5.9% growth rate reported for 2002 (see table). 

The EDMA report covers 14 countries in Europe. Also included in the report for 2003 are sales figures for Romania, an addition over reports compiled for previous years.

The IVD market increased significantly in most of the European countries. However, the growth rates in Germany and Switzerland were only 1.7 and 1.5%, respectively. These low growth rates could be explained by the fact that since these countries have already spent a significant amount on healthcare services, they have decided to slow down their health expenditures. In contrast, in the U.K., where healthcare expenditures have been low, the growth rate in the IVD market is high (8.9%). The estimated market growth rates are also relatively high in the Netherlands (8.3%), Belgium (8.4%), and Poland (12.3%). 

Table I. The IVD market in Europe for 2002 and 2003, showing relative size of key market segments. All revenues reported in million € at the 2003 conversion rate. Source: European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association (click to enlarge).

Overall, sales of patient self-testing products led European growth last year with an increase of 8.2% to a total value of €1.46 billion. Sales of rapid testing products were just behind with an increase of 7.5%. The European market for rapid testing products in 2003 totaled €1.63 billion.

EDMA’s annual report estimates sales for instruments and lab reagents in five major subgroups: clinical chemistry, immunochemistry, hematology, microbiology, and infectious immunology. Individual tests (analytes or groups of analytes) included in each of the subgroups are classified according to the European diagnostic market statistics system (EDMS), which was first created by EDMA in 1988. The system includes classifications for more than 1000 test parameters. 

Among the five subgroups of lab reagents included in the EDMA report, greatest growth in 2003 was attained in the sales of clinical chemistry products, which increased by 6.1% to a total of €2.34 billion. Lowest growth figures were reported for the area of microbiology products, which increased by only 2.1% to a total of €425.5 million. 

Total sales of laboratory products reported for the European countries in 2003 advanced to €7.37 billion from €6.84 billion the previous year. Among the segments of the IVD market tracked by EDMA, increased growth was reported for laboratory instrumentation, which gained 6% to a value of €875 million. Lower growth figures were reported for the area of laboratory reagents (excluding rapid testing products), which increased by 4.2%. Overall, European sales of laboratory products (instruments and reagents, excluding rapid testing products) increased in 2003 by 4.5%.

The category of self-testing products was first added to the EDMA survey in 1998. In order to preserve comparative historical figures for lab-related products, the self-testing category is reported separately from the total sales of other products. When sales figures for the two categories are added together, the European IVD market in 2003 totaled €8.83 billion. 

The complete results of EDMA’s report on the 2003 European IVD market are available via the association’s Web site at http://www.edma-ivd.be.  

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