EDITOR'S PAGE
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At this year’s annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC; Washington, DC) in Washington, DC, the 11th annual International Market Briefing on global issues in the IVD industry was held. At this briefing, which is cosponsored by IVD Technology, speakers discussed the current status of the IVD markets in various parts of the world, the opportunities for IVD manufacturers in these markets, and the potential hurdles that manufacturers will most likely encounter. This year’s briefing included presentations on Russia, the Middle East, and China.
While the IVD marketplace has been and will continue to be dominated primarily by the United States, Western Europe, and Japan, the presentations at the briefing demonstrated that IVD manufacturers should not overlook the rest of the world. The business opportunities that the rest of the world offers to manufacturers are growing since the health systems in these emerging markets are maturing. Accordingly, their demands for more sophisticated medical devices will likely increase, thereby presenting new markets for IVD companies and their products.
However, doing business in these other undeveloped markets is by no means easy. Companies must deal with regulatory issues that may seem antiquated and inconsistent, in addition to various social and cultural matters that are unique to each country.
IVD Technology has always recognized the importance of the global IVD market and continues to do so in this issue by covering some of the latest trends in global diagnostics. In this issue, authors Michael Farmer and Carl McEvoy of McEvoy & Farmer (Seattle) discuss the current status of the IVD markets in China, Brazil, and India. Their article, “China, Brazil, and India: Crashing the Gates of the Top Ten IVD Markets,” examines these markets with regard to their market value and accessibility for overseas IVD companies, the number and character of their clinical labs, the competitiveness of the indigenous producers, and distribution and product registration challenges.
Also in this issue, the In Person column features an interview with Maurizio Suppo, PhD, vice president of regulatory affairs, quality assurance, and environment health and safety at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (Deerfield, IL), who talks about the latest regulatory developments and challenges in Europe.
IVD Technology is planning to cosponsor the international briefing again at next year’s AACC annual meeting in Chicago. IVD manufacturers who have never attended the briefing should make an effort to attend next year. Doing so will help them understand just how small the IVD world really is becoming.
