IVD Technology
Magazine
IVDT Article Index
Originally Published IVD Technology September 2005
EDITOR'S PAGE
Putting China in perspective
Everyone is talking about and focusing on China. No other country has been creating so much buzz regarding its growth potential and opportunities. While such hyperbole may be justified in a number of different business areas, it is less certain whether that same level of excitement is appropriate when applied to the IVD market in China.
Economic reports indicate that the Chinese IVD market is still in its early stages of development. In 2004, the IVD market in China generated $840 million in revenues, accounting for just 3% of the total worldwide market. By comparison, the U.S. market generated more than $11 billion, accounting for 40% of the worldwide market.
But while China is a small player on today’s IVD world stage, some industry analysts believe that the Chinese market offers a lot of promise and a bright future. At an international market briefing presented at this year’s annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (Washington, DC), James J. Ho, MD, PhD, president of Lawke Health International Ltd. (Beijing), reported that the IVD market in China has been growing at an annual rate of 20% and is expected to continue doing so during the next few years. Ho said that a number of regulatory and governmental changes taking place in China are expected to spur further growth in the country’s IVD market.
Despite the air of anticipation of explosive growth in the Chinese IVD market, other industry experts are hesitant to jump on the China bandwagon just yet. Instead, they suggest that IVD manufacturers proceed more cautiously. For example, in this issue’s In Person interview (page 30), Julian Baines, managing director of British Biocell International Ltd. (Cardiff, UK), recommends that companies seeking to enter the Chinese IVD market do so first by way of partnerships and alliances. Similarly, the company executives who participated in this issue’s roundtable discussion on the global IVD marketplace (page 38) unanimously agreed that China is an important market, but one that should be approached gradually, as part of a company’s long-term goals and planning.
Without a doubt, China offers a huge potential growth market for the IVD industry. Although the United States may continue to dominate the worldwide IVD market for some time, IVD manufacturers cannot afford to ignore China and would be ill advised to lose sight of developments in that country. For now, though, IVD companies may be correct in taking more of a wait-and-see approach.
Richard Park
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