It would be a stretch to say the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is an in vitro diagnostics meeting. Healthcare IT and pharmaceutical deals traditionally dominate the handshakes there, and that’s no exception this year. Heck, one pharma deal announced at JPM would equal a seventh of the entire IVD market, just one deal. But we aren’t bitter.
In fact, IVD is always represented at JPM, and investors have always been interested; particularly in companion packages and novel tech.
So far, a few nuggets are worth reporting that might be of interest to IVD watchers:
Roche Sees Mid to High Single-Digit Diagnostics Growth: -Roche primarily focused on its pharmaceutical portfolio during the presentation, highlighting a growing pipeline in hematology cell therapies and Alzheimer’s treatments, among others. Notably, the company reported no revenue drag from COVID-19 and a strong Q4 performance of +9% in combined pharmaceutical and diagnostics sales.
Looking ahead to 2030, Roche projected mid-to-high single-digit growth in its diagnostics business. This is higher than previous years, and higher than where many firms (including Eye On IVD) have pegged IVD market growth (2-4%).
Also of note: While pharmaceutical growth will hinge on new product pipelines, diagnostics growth, the company says, will originate from on market, with new launches also a factor.
Check out Eye On IVD.com for more news, analysis of that news, as well as IVD expert-written market research and business planning.
Increasing Local Competition in China: QuidelOrtho CEO Bill Blaser addressed challenges in the Chinese market, indicating that local competition from China-based IVD firms was a challenge and that the competition has increased from past years. This is significant, as Asia Pacific sales are over twenty percent of the company’s revenue. For 2024, the company forecasts revenues of $2.75–$2.8 billion, down from $3.0 billion in 2023. Last year’s revenues will be finalized in February. A “late ramp-up” in respiratory sales was cited as a primary factor in the decline. Despite this, Blaser emphasized QuidelOrtho’s strong position in both laboratory and point-of-care (POC) respiratory testing, supported by a robust installed base of 97,000 Sophia respiratory systems. While acknowledging the increasing competition in respiratory panel testing, Blaser stated that Sophia’s market position has not yet been significantly affected.
CEOs from Revity and Waters echoed concerns about competition in the Chinese in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market, citing the proposed hospital stimulus as potential postive for 2025 sales.
No Letdown in Colon Cancer Screening Sales: Exact Sciences announced preliminary Q4 2024 revenues of $713 million, reflecting a 10% year-over-year increase. Screening revenues reached $553 million, a 14% rise compared to Q4 2023, while precision oncology revenue remained steady at $161 million.
New Lyme Test: Qiagen said it is on track to launch a Lyme test for its QuantiFERON platform in 2025, pending FDA clearance. The company highlighted the success of its QuantiFERON TB test and projected 50% revenue growth for the platform over the next four years. Additionally, Qiagen announced new companion diagnostics partnerships for its QIAstat-Dx system, including collaborations with Lilly (Alzheimer’s disease) and AstraZeneca (chronic diseases).
“As costs [on WGS] keep coming down, there just won’t be a reason to run targeted panels.”
WGS Over Targeted Panels: Tempus AI CEO Eric Lefkofsky highlighted the strategic importance of the company’s $600 million acquisition of Ambry Genetics, set to close on February 1, 2025. The deal positions Tempus to expand beyond oncology into pediatrics, rare diseases, immunology, women’s reproductive health, and cardiology, while driving projected 2025 revenues to $1.23 billion growth of 25% for the combined companies. Ambry, a leader in genetic testing for hereditary diseases, specializes in hereditary cancer, cardiology, neurology, and rare diseases, making it a valuable addition to Tempus’ portfolio. This acquisition supports Tempus’ core focus on data and genomics, which performed on plan in 2024 despite minor challenges in smaller segments, and aligns with its long-term goal of transitioning to whole-genome sequencing.
“We’re excited to have whole-genome be the backbone of all of our assays,” Lefkofsky said, adding, “As costs keep coming down, there just won’t be a reason to run targeted panels.”
