More pizazz in the laboratory market
In a market dominated by consolidations and falling prices, aiming to double turnover within three years requires either possession of the Philosopher’s Stone or extremely large amounts of creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and boldness. Diagnostics expert Unilabs, headquartered in Switzerland, belongs to the latter category.
Be it clinical evaluations, specialty testing, collaboration with science and the pharmaceutical industry or the advance into new areas such as anatomic pathology. With a share of 70%, routine diagnostics continues to be our mainstay within the laboratory diagnostics sector. We benefit from the inconspicuousness of the laboratory in the hospital, which encourages hospital decision makers to outsource this service – similar to what happens in radiology, another sector in which we are also active; and, whenever hospitals decide to outsource laboratory services we are considered to be a preferred partner. We have shown through more than 200 partnerships that we can take on the services formerly provided by hospital laboratories without any time delays, or friction,’ explains Associate Professor Dr Thomas Brinkmann, Group Chief Medical Officer at Unilabs.
There are also country-specific developments, such as the politically driven consolidation of the French laboratory market, which will see the number of private laboratories fall from the current 4,000 to less than 1,000 by 2016/2017. In the last six months, Unilabs has already acquired 70 laboratories there with more due to be taken over this year. This may push the company, currently in fifth place, higher up the ranks in the French market, and could put it on a par with Spain, where Unilabs is one of the top three providers. In Switzerland its home country, as well as in Scandinavia, Unilabs, by its own account, is already the market leader.
Faster, more comprehensive and reliable
To be ranked as one of the top diagnostics providers and to continue to grow means that laboratories these days need to offer more than just sample processing. Thomas Brinkmann: ‘At Unilabs we distinguish ourselves by offering concrete added value to our customers. Our services include fast evaluation of samples and close cooperation with doctors, for whom we provide assistance and advice and who can contact us almost around the clock.’ The advance into specific medical fields also appears promising. Unilabs is currently developing a division of oncohaematology in Geneva and has already created a team of leading haematologists for this venture. ‘This puts us on a par with the university hospitals,’ the Chief Medical Officer points out. ‘Unilabs is taking on the task of training pathologists – in Sweden, for example, since the public sector just cannot keep up in this area.’ Cellular pathology analyses are in strong demand and many European markets experience a shortage of qualified pathologists.
Pharmaceutical industry and science as partners
Unilabs also carries out drug development in a number of locations, with centres in Copenhagen, York and Moscow. These centres provide companion and predictive diagnostics as well as supporting clinical trials. ‘This is a lucrative market; there are now a handful of drugs that require companion diagnostics so that they can be prescribed, and this number is on the rise,’ explains Dr Brinkmann. The company has also entered into joint research and sponsorship collaborations with universities in Geneva, Zurich, Paris and Stockholm for the purposes of joint research and sponsorship. The objective for Thomas Brinkmann and his colleagues is to position Unilabs itself as a scientific organisation: ‘We don’t just want to achieve the numbers - we want more. This is why we maintain fruitful partnerships with various Centres of Excellence in fields such as molecular biology.’
He also sees a big potential for the sector of specialty testing, which Unilabs hopes to increase substantially by 2013. ‘Next to quality and service, specialty testing is the only area offering potential for differentiation. for further growth in this field. Through our collaboration with the industry, we have access to new tests. We are also attracting the best talents.’ Unilabs ventures into the laboratory market with the numerous initiatives and innovations, which gives the company an advantage that may become more pronounced in the future – at any rate, there won’t be a dull moment.
Unilabs Profile
Headquartered in Geneva, the Swiss company currently has almost 4,000 employees, including 225 doctors and scientists. The diagnostics specialist has a presence in 11 European countries, and has more than 150 laboratories that carry out more than 50 million tests annually. Besides laboratory diagnostics, the company also offers radiological services and produces around one million images a year in 30 imaging centres across Europe. The company is also one of the leading providers in the field of reproductive medicine.
10.07.2012
