In Vitro Diagnostics
In vitro diagnostics (IVDs) are diagnostic tests that that can detect diseases, conditions, or infections. In vitro diagnostics test a sample of tissue or bodily fluids, as opposed to testing inside the body, such as:
- Microbiological culture, which determines the presence or absence of microbes in a sample from the body, usually targeted at detecting pathogenic bacteria
- Genetic testing
- Blood glucose
- Liver function tests
- Calcium
- Electrolytes in the blood, such as sodium, potassium, creatinine and urea
In vitro tests can be classified according to the location of the sample being tested, including blood and urine tests.
Some tests are used health professional settings such as clinical laboratories, and other tests are for consumers to use at home. The expression in vitro comes from Latin, literally meaning “within the glass.” The name reflects the fact that historically such tests were conducted in glass vessels, such as test tubes.
Unlike other forms of medical technology, IVDs never interact directly with the human body. Their value stems from the information they provide. This sets IVDs apart from medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and is part of what makes them unique among health technologies.
In the U.S., in vitro diagnostics products are medical devices as defined in section 210(h) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and may also be biological products subject to section 351 of the Public Health Service Act. Like other medical devices, IVDs are subject to premarket and postmarket controls. IVDs are also subject to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA ’88) of 1988.
The IVD industry is growing steadily due to a number factors, such as increased demand for infectious disease testing as new pathogen strains develop each year, such as in seasonal influenza and H1N1, and increased incidences of hospital-acquired infections. Other factors include aging demographics common to all developed nations and the accompanying increased incidence of chronic disease across all age cohorts of the population; advances in DNA sequencing; and growing demand from emerging markets, which are only now becoming able to pay for diagnostic devices.
THE DARK REPORT’s Ranking of 2019’s Top 10 IVD Companies
One trend continues to reshape the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) industry year after year: acquisitions. Since the 1990s, the biggest IVD companies have frequently used acquisitions to boost their revenue and keep shareholders happy. But acquisition…
IVD Firms Report Robust Growth In Third Quarter Financial Reports
FOR THE BIGGER IN VITRO (IVD) COMPANIES, the third quarter (Q3) ending Sept. 30 was a time when diagnostic sales rose—molecular testing is skyrocketing, actually—while other corporate divisions continued to lag amid the COVID-19 pandemic. …
$481 Mil Federal COVID Contract Awarded to Young IVD Company
IN THEIR FIGHT AGAINST THE PANDEMIC, federal officials are boosting the fortunes of some little-known or emerging in vitro diagnostics (IVD) companies. One example is the recent award of a $481 million COVID-19 test contract to Cue Health Inc., of San Diego. Earlie…
Covid-19 Pandemic May Be Creating New IVD Winners and Losers
WITH THE PANDEMIC NOW IN ITS NINTH MONTH, in vitro diagnostics (IVD) company executives and industry consultants recognize the market for clinical laboratory instruments, tests, and products is changing in fundamental ways. “Evidence accumulates that the pandemic is helping create …
Thermo–Qaigen Merger Stopped, More IVDs Report Q2 Earnings
EACH TIME A MAJOR IN VITRO DIAGNOSTICS (IVD) COMPANY reports its quarterly earnings, clinical lab executives and pathologists gain useful new perspectives as to how the COVID-19 pandemic is fueling demand for IVD instruments, tests, and lab consumables. In this round-up of the most r…
IVD Firms Report Boom in Sales of COVID-19 Instruments, Tests
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, second quarter earnings reports were a good news/bad news situation for most of the nation’s major in vitro diagnostic (IVD) companies. The good news was that demand for COVID-19 tests meant increased sales and revenues for IVD firms selling those…
Biggest IVD Manufacturers Report Robust Third Quarter Earnings
In a time of shrinking lab budgets and falling prices for lab tests in the United States, how are the larger in vitro diagnostic (IVD) manufacturers doing? A look at third-quarter financial reports provides useful insights as to which segments within the IVD industry are doing better than ot…
FDA Issues Response to Draft Legislation to Regulate LDTs
DURING HER ADDRESS TO THE ANNUAL MEETING of the American Clinical Laboratory Association meeting in March, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) explained why she and others in Congress had developed the Diagnostic Accuracy and Innovation Act (DAIA), a discussion draft that would give the FDA…
Pap Test Errors in Ireland Attributed to Quest, CPL
CEO SUMMARY: In Ireland, the big story in healthcare at the moment is the discovery that the nation’s cervical cancer screening program has failed hundreds of women who had pre-cancerous conditions or cervical cancer, but, as alleged in numerous court cases, their tests were inaccurate …
Mass Spec Tests Struggle To Gain Insurers’ Attention
CEO SUMMARY: Since 2014, a toxicology lab at the University of Colorado has used mass spectrometry to offer low-cost, accurate multi-analyte test panels that can detect hundreds of therapeutic drugs and drugs of abuse. However, CU Toxicology’s chief medical officer says health insurers …
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 6 – April 21, 2025
Now that a federal judge has vacated the FDA’s LDT rule, The Dark Report analyzes the judgement and notes the various steps the FDA could take in response. Also, lab testing at pharmacies is proving to be less successful than was once anticipated.
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