Mammography is a mature and successful breast cancer diagnostic technology, but it has many drawbacks, including high false-negative and false-positive rates, the use of ionizing radiation, and ineffectiveness in dense or scarred breast tissue. Emerging companies aim to improve on this gold standard as well as streamline radiological workflow and predict disease aggressiveness and recurrence. START-UP profiles four such companies in this issue: Delphinus Medical Technologies, Ibris, NovaScan and Real Time Tomography.

In the fourth quarter, medical device companies raised $1.1 billion, a third of which was represented by follow-on public offerings. Acquisitions were strong overall, holding steady with 15 transactions - the same as Q3 - but only slightly less in money paid, $6 billion. In vitro diagnostic/research companies, like medical device, also ended 2010 on a high note, with funding totaling $511 million in Q4. The majority of the money spent on IVD/research acquisitions came from Thermo Fisher Scientific's buy of Dionex for $2.1 billion.

This article first appeared in Medtech Insight, October 2010.

The global economic downturn has put pressure on large, consumer-based in vitro diagnostic markets, such as diabetes glucose-testing, driving down sales, pricing, and profits. As a result, the IVD industry is actively seeking out higher growth opportunities to offset this impact-and it is finding solutions in several areas, branching into underserved emerging markets like China and India and targeting higher-growth clinical segments such as cancer, women's health, and infectious disease. But perhaps the biggest opportunity for future growth lies in the field of molecular diagnostics, particularly products that address the move toward more personalized care. Suppliers well positioned to take advantage of this opportunity are likely to experience strong growth ahead.