Diagnostic Desperation: A Look at IVD Trends During COVID-19

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic’s extreme disruption was by no means limited to the medical device industry; virtually every industry floundered as they struggled to cope with travel restrictions, social distancing guidelines, skeleton crews of employees on site, and anxiety about how long the pandemic would rage on.

The medical device industry, however, was uniquely impacted for a number of reasons. Procedures considered elective were cancelled or postponed to free up critical hospital beds. Medtech makers who provided technologies used in elective procedures—orthopedic manufacturers, for example—watched their revenue plummet as hospitals purchased far less of their products.

“As the spring and summer played out we saw a sharp drop off in cardiovascular and orthopedic customers due to elective surgeries being shelved,” said Patrick Pickerell, president of Peridot Corp., a Pleasanton, Calif.-based precision manufacturing firm specializing in medical components, miniature and micro-miniature components, and general product prototypes and fabrications. “Who would have thought that cardiovascular would be consi