PET and PET/CT aid European radiopharmaceuticals market
A spate of installations of PET and PET/CT diagnostic scanners has given new life to the European radiopharmaceuticals market with the sales of 2-Deoxy-2-[18F] fluoro-D-Glucose (FDG), since a single installation of a PET or a PET/CT scanner can initiate multiple FDG sales, according to new analysis from Frost & Sullivan. The market research firm reported that the European radiopharmaceuticals market earned revenues of $580.8 million in 2007.
New products that are customized for specific indications will help revive the market as well as product and application development will not only expand the scope of market penetration but also avert price wars by helping the market lose its “generic” tag, according to Frost & Sullivan.
“Smaller participants should concentrate on developing radiopharmaceuticals for new application areas through joint ventures with larger companies,” said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Divya B. “This way, the bigger participants can contribute part of the money for research and later take up the distribution of the product once it obtains FDA approval.
Frost & Sullivan reported that while high competition and lack of product differentiation have made price-based competition imperative in the European radiopharmaceuticals markets, lack of uniform reimbursement across the continent is further compounding participants’ woes. Different countries favor reimbursement for different segments of the market. Hence, a prospective investor might find it more profitable to enter the FDG market in the United Kingdom, while in Sweden there might be more takers for the therapeutics market, according to the firm.
The issues will soon be a thing of the past with the implementation of stringent market regulations, Frost & Sullivan said. The European Union Council can reduce market complexity by harmonizing individual country laws, according to the firm.
“Similarly, market participants could lobby for standardization of quality control measures across countries,” noted Frost & Sullivan. “The professional organization representing nuclear medicine physicians in Europe, the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, could also be used to establish research studies and as an ally to governmental lobbying.”
New products that are customized for specific indications will help revive the market as well as product and application development will not only expand the scope of market penetration but also avert price wars by helping the market lose its “generic” tag, according to Frost & Sullivan.
“Smaller participants should concentrate on developing radiopharmaceuticals for new application areas through joint ventures with larger companies,” said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Divya B. “This way, the bigger participants can contribute part of the money for research and later take up the distribution of the product once it obtains FDA approval.
Frost & Sullivan reported that while high competition and lack of product differentiation have made price-based competition imperative in the European radiopharmaceuticals markets, lack of uniform reimbursement across the continent is further compounding participants’ woes. Different countries favor reimbursement for different segments of the market. Hence, a prospective investor might find it more profitable to enter the FDG market in the United Kingdom, while in Sweden there might be more takers for the therapeutics market, according to the firm.
The issues will soon be a thing of the past with the implementation of stringent market regulations, Frost & Sullivan said. The European Union Council can reduce market complexity by harmonizing individual country laws, according to the firm.
“Similarly, market participants could lobby for standardization of quality control measures across countries,” noted Frost & Sullivan. “The professional organization representing nuclear medicine physicians in Europe, the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, could also be used to establish research studies and as an ally to governmental lobbying.”