Diagnostics Companies Will Ride the Wave of Change
Posted on Mon, Jun 29, 2009 @ 11:31 AM
As US citizens hold their breath and speculate about how
healthcare reform, 
personalized medicine and the shift toward prevention will
impact them, I am certain that diagnostics companies are going to benefit more
than most from the changes taking place.
Personalized medicine is increasing demand for molecular
diagnostics that can accurately predict which patients will respond to a
particular drug. Biomarker tests that can ensure a product will show some
efficacy in the patients for which it is prescribed are therefore going to be
in high demand. Drugs matched with biomarker tests can also translate into more
rapid regulatory approval, albeit, possibly more narrow market
potential. It is also no
coincidence that three Big Pharma players doing relatively better than their
competitors are those with a major presence in diagnostics—Abbott, Johnson
& Johnson and Roche.
G. Steven Burrill
had a fascinating interview in the June issue of Life
Science Leader magazine in which he talked about the future of healthcare,
personalized medicine, changes in the pharmaceutical industry and the rise of
diagnostics. In the article, Mr. Burrill predicts that the rise in
personalized, predictive and preventative medicine as a result of healthcare
reform is going to lead to a shift in diagnostics from being a high volume, low
margin business to a high value, high margin business. Personalized medicine
seems inevitable when you consider that according to some estimates, about 55%
of the drugs consumed in America don’t work for the patients that they were
prescribed for, and 80% of all approved cancer therapies fail to provide
positive outcomes for many cancer patients.
What has been very interesting to see is how the evolution
of our client base is keeping pace with the increasing importance of
diagnostics companies in the healthcare marketplace. While JFK Communications
has been providing public relations services to diagnostics companies since our
inception, today approximately half of our client base includes diagnostics
companies.
Diagnostic product public relations is every bit as
challenging and engaging as pharmaceutical, biotechnology and patient advocacy
communications. It requires an understanding of different regulatory pathways,
complex commercial development, licensing and distribution environments, and a
unique media universe that is changing and growing at the same pace as other
media segments. It also demands
that we interpret and position our clients’ interests and messages in anticipation
of looming healthcare reform in the U.S.