Molecular Diagnostics, Personalized Medicine, Changing Health Care Landscape, Scientia Advisors Finds
April 26, 2010
A new global review from my client, Scientia Advisors , predicts rapid growth in molecular diagnostics and that, with traditional pharma companies slow to innovate, a myriad of new entrants vying for market share will change the healthcare landscape.
(Molecular diagnostics are genetic tests used to judge the effectiveness of particular treatments for individual patients–key to the burgeoning new field of personalized medicine).
Released earlier this month (and available for download at no charge at www scientiaadv.com) the review projects that MDx will grow at an annually compounded rate 15% to approximately $7.5B in 2013.
Currently, molecular tests used for oncology and critical care infectious diseases are experiencing the fastest growth among MDx segments.
“Ultimately, MDx will enhance care, cut health care costs and make personalized medicine a worldwide reality,” said Scientia Advisors Managing Partner Harry Glorikian.
Among other major findings:
- The industry is transitioning away from low-cost, low-margin tests. New, “high-value” MDx tests are changing the health care paradigm by providing critical information to physicians more quickly and accurately than was previously possible.
- While most MDx revenue is currently generated in the US and Europe, future growth will be most pronounced in the developing world.
- New, easy-to-use, random access and fast-turnaround-time MDx platforms are enabling widespread adoption of MDx in small and mid-sized hospitals, worldwide.
- Companies seeking to enter the MDx field must be cognizant that, with the growing impact of MDx, government oversight and regulation will likely increase and reimbursement policies will evolve to reflect added value.
Scientia Advisors is a global management consulting firm specializing in growth strategies for companies in health care, life sciences, biotechnology and nutrition, world wide. The firm is based in Boston and San Francisco.
—Anita M. Harris
HarrisCom Blog is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.
Device cos’s should address unmet needs in growing neurostimulation market, Scientia Advisors say
August 24, 2009
HarrisCom client Scientia Advisors recommends that the device industry set its sights on the growing neurostimulation market to meet treatment needs of individuals suffering from nerve-related disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and continence.
The advice, based on a Scientia study released today, comes as electrical stimulation technologies begin to supplant drugs for treating certain nerve-related disorders.
According to Scientia managing partner Harry Glorikian: “With an aging population and increasing concern about efficacy and health care costs, there is a growing need for treatments that are quicker, safer, more effective and less expensive than drug-based therapies,” Glorikian said.
“Neurostimulation can be advantageous to patients because it is not addictive, does not depend on individuals’ genetic makeup, and does not ordinarily cause systemic side effects,” Glorikian said. “By diminishing the need for ongoing medication and treatment, neurostimulation devices could also help reduce overall health care costs. “
In its study, Scientia found that the neurostimulation market has been growing at an average rate of 16 per cent since 2007. Scientia projects growth rates of 14- to-23 percent for certain technologies through 2012.
“Emerging companies are developing exciting new methods for treating a variety of nerve-related disorders. With added proof of safety and clinical efficacy, we expect that doctors will increasingly recommend surgically implanted devices instead of—or along with– pharmaceuticals for many patients,” Glorikian said.
Scientia projects the most rapid growth for:
- Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), which delivers electrical impulses to targeted areas of the brain via implanted leads and power sources. DBS is now used in treating six percent of the approximately 6 million US patients who have movement disorders such as Parkinson ’s disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. DBS is in the pipeline for use in epilepsy, migraine, major depression, paralysis from stroke, and muscular and cognitive disorders.
- Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS), which is used mainly for treating chronic pain. When added to conventional (pharmaceutical) therapy, Scientia reports, SCS decreases pain by 50 percent, whereas conventional therapy alone decreases pain by just nine percent.
- Sacral Nerve Stimulation (SNS), which is currently used mainly as a last resort in treating serious bladder or fecal incontinence. In the US, 13 million individuals—including 10 percent of US individuals over age 65– suffer from serious incontinence. Since 1997, some 50 thousand patients have been treated with implanted SNS devices, worldwide.
“Currently, the neurostimulation market is dominated by a few large companies but countless others could prosper by developing or acquiring these exciting new technologies,” Glorikian said.
Key opportunities and unmet needs include smaller devices that are easier to use, longer battery life and better feedback mechanisms, the study found.
Scientia Advisors, based in Cambridge, MA and Palo Alto, CA, specializes in growth strategies for major and emerging companies. Scientia advises companies based on proprietary studies, many of which are self-funded.
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