The outbreak of swine flu is highlighting the public health importance of improved testing techniques and providing market opportunities for manufacturers of diagnostic tests and other products related to the disease. These conclusions and others appear in a new report released today from Kalorama Information: Swine Flu Market Alert.

Regardless of the eventual severity of the epidemic, there will be a distinct market impact on both immunoassay and molecular test makers, according to the report. The makers of certain tests will benefit both in terms of sales and more broadly in the recognition that their products play a vital role in making the public health community significantly better prepared for this possible pandemic than in 1968 or before.

Rapid immunoassays, the clinical usefulness of which is limited under normal conditions, will see an increased profile. For the most part, sales of these products depend on the severity of the influenza season, which has been mild (and sales disappointing) in recent years. The advent of the swine flu will have a positive, albeit short-term, impact on revenues.

"Under normal circumstances, most patients do not visit a doctor or hospital to be tested for the flu until after the period when the detectable virus is being shed, in which case rapid testing is unhelpful," notes Shara Rosen, the author of the report. "However, this scenario changes in the setting of an epidemic or pandemic alert when people are more sensitized to the danger of the illness. And in a pandemic situation with limited therapeutic supply, rapid immunoassays provide important clinical decision-making information."

Molecular tests will also feel the impact, according to the report. Already replacing culture as the dominant technique for strain determination, molecular testing development and investment will be further driven by the importance of sufficient capacity and speed that a potential pandemic highlights.

This report examines the market impact from previous epidemics, and the likely impact on both traditional and molecular testing, and profiles nearly 25 specific manufacturers active in this space.