While most segments of the lab market continue to grow at 5 percent per year, the molecular diagnostics market continues to grow at approximately 20 percent, to a total of $5.5 billion in 2008, according to Washington G-2 Reports’ estimates.

This year, there will be an estimated 65 million molecular diagnostics tests conducted in the U.S., noted Stephanie Murg, editor of the Diagnostic Testing & Technology Report for Washington G-2 Reports/IOMA, at the conference, “Business & Financial Strategies for Molecular Diagnostics,” which the company held April 30-May 2 in Cambridge, MA.

Drivers in the molecular diagnostics market include profitability and higher reimbursement rates, making it attractive for all labs. For example, at Quest Diagnostics, profit margins on gene-based, esoteric, and anatomic pathology tests are typically 40 percent, compared to five percent on routine tests, explained another conference speaker, Keith Batchelder, M.D., CEO of the consulting company Genomic Healthcare Strategies (Charlestown, MA).

The other industry leader, LabCorp (Burlington, N.C.), aims to have esoteric and anatomic pathology contribute 40 percent to its revenues within the next few years. For more on the molecular diagnostics market outlook, see the June issue of Laboratory Industry Report.