US Markets for Contrast Agents and Radiopharmaceuticals 2011

Introduction:

The US market for contrast agents and radiopharmaceuticals will decline over the forecast period due to efforts made by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and private insurers to curb rising health care costs. This began with cost-containment measures spurred by rising diagnostic imaging procedures prior to reimbursement cuts under the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act. Many insurers are mandating the preauthorization of imaging scans before coverage can be attained in order to reduce self-referrals and preventative medical practices. Furthermore, reimbursement will be reduced for the technical components of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based on changes made to the formula used to calculate coverage. Consequently, it will be less lucrative for referring physicians and radiologists to operate their own imaging scanners in nonhospital settings, thereby restricting procedure growth. While procedure volumes will exhibit some growth toward the end of the forecast period, due to the extended coverage of US citizens under the health care reform, average selling prices (ASPs) will decline as a result of competitive pressures. Revenues in the US contrast agent and radiopharmaceutical market will thus drop to just under $2 billion by 2015.

Questions Answered in This Report:

• In the US, rising health care costs are forcing insurers to resort to radiology benefits managers (RBMs) to preauthorize scans. How will each segment of the US market be affected by insurers using RBMs? What will be the impact on procedure volumes for each modality? When will procedure volume growth pick up pace again?
• Beginning in 2011, CMS will cut reimbursement for the technical component of CT and MRI scans as it changes the assumed utilization rate for these modalities. What will be the impact of reduced reimbursement on CT and MRI procedure volumes? How will ASPs of contrast agent change as reduced procedure volume growth intensifies competition between vendors?
• Ultrasound contrast agents are now unshackled from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warning. Further, GE Healthcare relaunched Optison in the US, with more agents to be launched by 2015. What has been the impact of the FDA move on ultrasound contrast agent volumes? How will procedure volumes and the competitive landscape change as competition to Lantheus Medical Imaging intensifies.
• Reimbursement for conventional nuclear medicine procedures is expected to be cut further in the future. Will conventional nuclear medicine procedure volumes return to growth in the forecast period? Will conventional nuclear medicine's loss be positron emission topography (PET)/CT and other modalities' gain?

Scope:

Regions covered: US

Procedure segmentation: Our analysis uses the following breakdown of procedures:

• Radiopharmaceuticals
• Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)
• PET/CT
• CT & X-ray contrast agents
• Contrast-enhanced CT
• Cardiovascular X-ray
• Contrast-enhanced conventional X-ray
• Contrast-enhanced MRI
• Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound

Market segmentation: Our analysis uses the following breakdown of the market:

• Radiopharmaceuticals
• SPECT
• PET/CT
• CT & X-ray contrast agents
• CT contrast agent
• Cardiovascular X-ray contrast agent
• Conventional X-ray contrast agents
• MRI contrast agent
• Ultrasound contrast agent

Market forecast features: Based on primary research with industry professionals and data from Millennium Research Group's sister company, Arlington Medical Resources, we use our proprietary forecasting model to provide an in-depth examination of current and future trends in procedure volumes, unit sales, average selling prices, and market values over a 7-year period (2009–2015).

Competitive analysis: We provide a detailed analysis of the competitive landscape in the market, as well as market shares and qualitative discussions of the leading competitors in each market segment.