Monday, May 23, 2011

Point of Care Diagnostics - Players, products & future market prospects by ReportsnReports


Point of Care Diagnostics - Players, products & future market prospects 

The Point Of Care Diagnostics market was worth US$13.7 billion in 2010 and rose by 3% compared with 2009. The market has historically risen at a much stronger rate and this slowdown was due to a stagnation for blood glucose testing due to weak pricing and volumes in the US. Excluding blood glucose, the market rose by 7% in 2010, driven by demand for cardiovascular testing products.
Source: Care Diagnostics Market
Buy Now :  Market Research
Annual market growth of 8 to 9% is predicted to 2016 due to a growing interest in the adoption of Point Of Care technologies by both healthcare providers and consumers, and the introduction of new products that enable POC testing for more applications, enhance ease-of-use and improve on the accuracy of current products.

M&A activity increases as big players diversify and manoeuvre for position
Merger and acquisition activity has increased significantly in recent years, with around 15 key transactions taking place since the beginning of 2009. This industry consolidation is changing the dynamics of the market. In particular, Alere has reinforced its dominance of several product segments, acquiring a leading position in the European drug testing market by purchasing Concateno and a strong position in emerging regions with South Korean manufacturer, Standard Diagnostics. Heightened M&A activity is also increasing investment in new technology as companies with more financial clout enter the sector, although potentially to the detriment of smaller companies.

Theranostics - now it’s getting personal
DNA testing for personalised medicine is just one area of innovation exciting the market. The first of many POC DNA analysis systems, Spartan Bioscience’s RX CYP2C19, has recently gained European approval to help cardiologists identify patients with impaired metabolism to the popular anti-blood clotting medication, clopidogrel. It represents the first POC system for companion diagnostics, but with the increasing use of targeted biological drugs the sector will be very much a major component of the future POC market.

Outlook for POC sectors...
Blood glucose testing - will continue to be negatively impacted by pricing pressure and weak volume growth in the US, although this will be partly offset by demand in emerging markets for blood glucose meters and the adoption of new technologies such as continuous blood glucose monitoring in developed countries. In addition, the US market may be affected by a proposed tightening of performance standards to address the limitations of some current blood glucose meters. The underlying market fundamentals remain strong, given the rising number of people with diabetes globally.

Infectious diseases - the market is forecast to show improvement in 2011 after declines in 2010 that were mainly the result of unfavourable comparisons with the unusually strong growth seen in 2009 due to the H1N1 pandemic. Some of this improvement is expected to be offset by reduced funding for healthcare programmes in the developing world. The launch of new tests that promise increased accuracy will drive growth in the market.

Clinical chemistry/blood gas analysers - will see stable growth, driven by increasing clinical evidence as to the benefits of the analysers, rising awareness as to their availability and benefits in terms of time and costs, and moves to enhance connectivity.

Cardiac markers - will see strong, sustained growth in the period to 2016, driven by increasing clinical evidence as to the benefits on patient care of these tests and the corresponding growth in adoption rates.

Coagulation - will experience continued strong demand, led by the rising number of patients using anticoagulation therapy, improved reimbursement for the products and strong patient demand for self-testing products. However, the sector is expected to be reduced, or possibly even eliminated, in the longer-term as new-generation anticoagulants that do not require such monitoring become widely used.

Cancer tests - will see continued stable growth, driven by the use of POC tests in the consumer market and by healthcare providers for cancer screening programmes, particularly faecal occult blood tests for colon cancer screening. Although there have been calls for the tighter regulation of OTC cancer screening tests, it is unlikely measures will be put in place that would hinder consumer demand or restrict sales.

Fertility products - will experience stable growth, despite strong market competition and reduced consumer spending. This will be driven by higher-priced digital products and increased demand for OTC products.

Includes Market Forecasts to 2016 

Unique 5-year sales forecasts to 2016 for all major point of care diagnostic sectors
¾¾ A comprehensive examination of all POC sectors with current products and pipeline prospects
¾¾ Detailed competitive evaluation covering over 150 companies active in the area

Use this report to
Review the prospects for key POC testing sectors such as blood glucose, pregnancy, infectious disease and cardiovascular
Identify the fastest growing sectors in US$ and % growth to 2016 with our novel forecasts
Evaluate how the market is developing
Know the current size and split of trends in major markets and technology sectors
Contrast and compare the competitive landscape in terms of product offering by POCsector
Understand the commercial, regulatory and clinical drivers and dampeners that will affect each sector’s growth and development
Compare and review the research that will shape the market in the future, such as Theranostics and Microfluidics