IVD industry insider outlook – Challenges and opportunities

On a brighter note, Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the true need for diagnostics to get better clinical decision and patient care. It has shifted the paradigm of need of diagnostics from SOS basis to preventive health checkups and general health awareness. We can surmise this, as now everyone understands the core scientific terms such as RT-PCR, CT value and CBC reports.

Now, in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) industry is in the limelight and witnessing a remarkable phase of transformation. In coming years, many players will emerge and contribute toward overall market development of this unorganized sector to organized. We can already see big pharma companies and chains of hospitals entering into laboratory testing as an important business vertical. This transformation is critical and will continue to bring more and more technological advancements, such as incorporation of data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in laboratory testing to advance the science of diagnostics.

While there will always be demand for advanced technologies, we will see a constant surge in POCT (point-of-care testing), especially for the public disease segment. The lab testing companies will also observe growth trajectory in testing of pregnancies, and diabetes even from Tier-III cities. The testing will also soar in highly specialized disease areas like cancer, wherein available technologies, such as next-generation sequencing (NGS), PCR, cytogenetics, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry (IHC) are becoming more and more accessible.

Performing these specialized lab tests require highly trained and skilled manpower, who can perform these lab tests very meticulously. So training of manpower on the latest instruments and techniques remains an important factor. This will immensely contribute to the expansion of our industry.

In these changing times, we have a challenge lying ahead, which is to provide quality reports on time with seamless customer experience. The intent is to cater to the outlying patients for essential and specialized tests, so that the diagnostics requirements are served locally with quality. The resolution is also to take specialized tests in the field of cancer, transplant immunology, aneuploidy testing, rare diseases, etc., to Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

To match the pace of these changing times, automation and digitization will continue to remain the key. Automation will help laboratories to deliver quality reports in short turnaround time (TAT), while digitization will help swift transfer of reports and management of historical patient databases.

Bringing newer technologies to the lab testing industry from outside India is very crucial, to engage with new health-tech and research companies working on Innovative science. It is evident that in the past bringing these technologies and developing in-house cost effective solutions have helped clinicians in taking better informed clinical decisions.

The IVD sector growth path needs support of the government schemes and programs to evolve further. In addition, reduction of import duties may help to maximize the import and use of IVD instruments. Incorporation of data science with laboratory testing will help develop few disease-prediction tests/panels, which can be made using Indian patient databases.

Overall, the IVD industry growth prospects are very promising and will revolutionize patient care and management in India.