May 18, 2012 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Sales and Marketing
Pathology laboratories that are customers of Dako should take notice of the coming change of ownership
Once again, a major player in histology and anatomic pathology tissue processing has been acquired. Yesterday it was announced that Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), of Santa Clara, California, will pay $2.2 billion to acquire Dako, the cancer diagnostics company in Glostrup, Denmark. It is the largest acquisition in Agilent’s 13-year history.
The high price paid for Dako is just the latest confirmation that Wall Street investors consider molecular diagnostics and anatomic pathology to be a high-growth, profitable sector of laboratory medicine. With 2010 revenues of $340 million, Agilent will pay $2.2 billion, which is a 5.8 times multiple of Dako’s annual revenue.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers following the histopathology market will recall that Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., was acquired by Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) in February, 2008. The purchase price was approximately $3.4 billion, representing a multiple of 10.2 times Ventana’s 2007 revenue of about $290 million.
(more…)
Apr 9, 2012 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Critics of an inquiry into histopathology errors at the Royal Bristol Infirmary argue that as many as 6,800 cases over eight year may have errors in diagnosis
In Bristol, England, the issue of serious errors in the anatomic pathology service of the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) during the years 2000 to 2008 refuses to go away. Earlier this year, critics of an inquiry commissioned by the parent health trust became vocal once again after public notice was given of plans to consolidate histopathology services in the region.
These critics continue to be upset about how the inquiry into ongoing problems with the anatomic pathology service at BRI was conducted during 2009 and 2010. Newspapers in the United Kingdom have given the story wide play. Stories were published about pathology errors at BRI and the public learned about the misdiagnoses of specific cancer patients whose names became known.
(more…)
Mar 9, 2012 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Pathology
Pathologists would gain new tool to diagnose cancer faster and more accurately, based upon stain-free analysis of tissue
Reading tissue biopsies with a new stain-free method could eventually help pathologists achieve faster and less subjective cancer detection. Should this technology prove viable, it would also displace many of the longstanding tissue preparation methodologies used today in the histopathology laboratory.
Credit a research team from the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois (UI) Christie Clinic and at the UI campuses in Urbana and Chicago, with developing this new technology.
They call the technique Spatial Light Interference Microscopy (SLIM). According to a story reported by Futurity.org, the technique uses two beams of light.
(more…)
Jan 11, 2012 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
Innovative pathology laboratory organizations in the UK and Europe will come together at the Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine (FiLM) conference on January 31-February 1, 2012
For decades, the pathology and medical laboratory service in the United Kingdom has been the envy of many developed nations. But times change and the National Health Service (NHS) finds itself coping with increased demand, shrinking budgets, and soaring healthcare costs. As a result, the NHS is asking pathology testing labs in the UK to do more with less.
Consequently, the status quo for pathology and medical laboratory medicine in the United Kingdom is undergoing fundamental change—often at a rapid pace. In some areas, multiple hospital laboratories are being asked to consolidate into a single regional lab organization.
Another change is that price competition for pathology testing has become a factor. Within the NHS, primary care trusts now tender for pathology testing services and commission those pathology laboratories that bid the most competitive prices. The tender and commissioning process is creating new economic winners and losers among pathology laboratories throughout the United Kingdom. (more…)
Oct 24, 2011 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Shortage of pathologists only adds to the challenges of providing high quality anatomic pathology testing services
DATELINE: Hangzhou, China—More than 1,200 Chinese pathologists and medical laboratory scientists assembled this weekend in a city marked by 1,500 years of history. The occasion was the first-ever combined meeting of the Chinese Society of Pathology and the Pathology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association.
Across the globe, pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals regularly hear about the rapid economic growth in China. This country is modernizing at an astounding rate and the evidence is easy to see in its major cities. That is certainly true here in Hanghzou, which has a population of 8.7 million people and is the anchor city for Zhejiang Province, with a population of approximately 54.4 million. It has many new buildings in its downtown and construction cranes are visible in every direction.
(more…)
