Medical Device Link.

Originally Published MX January/February 2004

COVER STORY

According to industry association AdvaMed (Washington, DC), U.S. medtech companies devote an average of 12.9% of revenues on R&D spending—more than four times the average for all U.S. industries. According to industry sources, the average rate of R&D spending in the IVD sector is 9%—still high by comparison with other U.S. industries.

Dade Behring's Dimension RxL incorporates several analyzers into a single unit, thereby eliminating the need for multiple instruments, simplifying work flow, reducing overall cost, and increasing efficiency—all major challenges for clinical laboratories worldwide.

However, maintaining such a commitment isn't easy. Throw in the challenges of rapid technological change, a discriminating customer base of professional end-users, or the fierce competition of a truly globalized marketplace, and you have a recipe for circumstances that are sure to cause many sleepless nights for company executives.

Now toss in the additional complications of leading a company through financial restructuring and dramatically reducing its debt load, and you have a better idea just how impressive the achievements of Dade Behring have been during its first year as a public company.

Already the world's largest company focused solely on clinical laboratory diagnostics, Dade Behring is continuing to grow its business by meeting the practical, everyday needs of its customers. Using a strategy called "customer-centered product development," the company offers a wide range of diagnostic instruments and assays that address such typical laboratory challenges as limited workspace and resources.

Such a focus on practical innovation has made Dade Behring a pioneer in the area of workstation consolidation. The company's flagship brand is the Dimension family of diagnostic instruments—currently including the Dimension RxL and the Dimension Xpand—each of which combines several analyzers into a single unit and covers more than 90% of all physician-requested tests. The instruments offer a menu of more than 90 tests, including general chemistry testing, drug testing, specialty tests, and immunoassays. Such an integrated approach to testing has received strong market acceptance, and sales of the Dimension family of products has been a constant source of growth since the launch of the Dimension RxL in 1998.

But producing the company's next-generation platform required an even greater focus. Over the past three years, Dade Behring has not only restructured its financial obligations and relaunched itself as a public company, it has also increased its R&D expenditures from 6.5 to nearly 9% of sales. One result is the Dimension Vista, an integrated system designed especially for high-volume clinical laboratories. Although the system is still technically under development, Dade Behring previewed the product at last July's annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry and is currently demonstrating its features on road shows throughout the United States. The system is slated to be available in 2005.

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