Molecular diagnostics has grown to a sizeable market, though consensus has proven elusive when it comes to how sizeable. One report released in March offered a market size of $4.476 billion for last year (Grand View Research), while another pegged the market even higher in 2013 at $5.5 billion (Kalorama Information). The latter is more in line with Frost & Sullivan’s 2012 forecast that molecular diagnostics will grow this year to more than $6.2 billion in total revenues (Frost & Sullivan).
Whatever the size, molecular diagnostics is a growing market, with a growing number of players—not only biopharma giants like Roche and Abbott, but numerous companies that have found their niches in tools and technologies. They are expected to be joined by up-and-comers such as Xagenic, which on May 20 was honored with the 2014 North America Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation Leadership for its fully automated diagnostic platform, designed to enable widespread decentralized testing to be performed outside of clinical laboratories. Xagenic has raised more than $30 million in financing since 2012, of which $20 million in Series B funding was announced in December.
Following is a list of 14 top public molecular diagnostics companies ranked by revenue reported in 2013, either companywide or for molecular diagnostics operations in the case of companies with broader operations.
Two public giants with a presence in molecular diagnostics could not be ranked. Siemens disclosed that the “diagnostics” business of Siemens Healthcare generated $5.383 billion (€3.942 billion) in revenue, but does not offer a breakdown of that sum that would reveal how much of that total reflected molecular diagnostics activity. One possible clue may be found in the $500 million price that bankers representing Siemens were rumored to have asked would-be buyers for the German conglomerate’s microbiology unit, according to a March 19 Reuters report for which Siemens declined comment.
Also not ranked was GE Healthcare, which during a March 18 investor presentation by its president and CEO John Dineen disclosed that it generated $3.7 billion in global orders from “molecular medicine” customers in 2013, without disclosing actual revenue. Even if all those orders did go through, it may not offer a complete picture of the size of GE’s molecular diagnostics business, since the company includes “molecular imaging” not in its “molecular medicine” segment, but within the $9.5 billion “diagnostic and clinical equipment” segment of its Diagnostics business.
#14. Agendia
Revenue: $15 million in 20121
#13. Foundation Medicine
Revenue: $29.2 million
#12. bioMérieux
Revenue: $106.5 million (€78 million)2
#11. Grifols
Revenue: $177.991 million (€130.339 million)3
#10. Genomic Health
Revenue: $261.6 million
#9. Cepheid
Revenue: $401.3 million
#8. Abbott Laboratories
Revenue: $473 million4
#7. BD (Becton, Dickinson & Co.)
Revenue: $606 million5
#6. Myriad Genetics
Revenue: $613.2 million for fiscal year ended June 30, 2013
#5. Qiagen
Revenue: $651 million6
#4. Agilent/Dako
Revenue: $750 million7
#3. Hologic
Revenue: $1.156 billion for fiscal year ending September 28, 20138
#2. Illumina
Revenue: $1.421 billion
#1. Roche
Revenue: $1.756 billion (CHF 1.571 billion)9
Figures in non-U.S. currencies converted to U.S. dollars on May 23 via www.xe.com.
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