Specialist
Former global director at AB Sciex LLC (Danaher Corp)
Agenda
- Trends and development within the LC-MS (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry) market with focus on Sciex (NYSE: DHR)
- Sciex's growth after being acquired by Danaher
- Pipeline overview – commercial capabilities, innovation potential and growth opportunities
- Outlook for Q4 2021 and beyond
Questions
1.
Can you outline the trends and developments in the LC-MS [liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry] market, focusing on those impacting Sciex?
2.
Could you expand on the nuances around cyclicality in the MS [mass spectrometry] market that are impacting the TAM and growth for players such as Sciex?
3.
What new technologies do you think MS can disrupt in the longer term? What relationship do you expect between MS and LC [liquid chromatography] as the former improves?
4.
Could you discuss the evolution of LC-MS technology over the past five years or so? What have been the key changes to features such as sensitivity and compliance?
5.
You noted that Sciex is strong on sensitivity and specificity. Can you outline the company’s broader capabilities? Where are its strengths and weaknesses?
6.
How would you assess Sciex vs other players? You mentioned that the company leads in core MS but noted a continued threat from other players, particularly in biopharma. What criteria should we focus on? You mentioned software. What else influences the decision-making process among these players?
7.
You mentioned that Sciex has varying levels of success across markets. What key factors have allowed competitors to take a lead, particularly in biopharmaceutical development? What related announcements or pipeline developments should we monitor at the company?
8.
You noted that the biopharma segment wasn’t a core area for Sciex, which enabled competitors to enter and get ahead. How do you evaluate the company’s recent initiatives, such as the launch of its ZenoTOF 7600? It is expected to advance the development of bio-therapeutics and precision diagnostics.
9.
You mentioned Sciex’s significant lead with its core offering, but how should we frame the competitive threat of players such as Agilent and Thermo? What is the risk of Sciex’s product being replaced by competing offerings?
10.
Where do you expect Sciex’s greatest competitive threat? Which player has a particularly impressive innovation pace or overall commercial strength that might shift the underlying dynamics we’ve discussed?
11.
What are your thoughts on the recent partnership between Seer and Sciex to provide an end-to-end proteomics solution?
12.
What software partnerships do you consider significant? What could Danaher potentially benefit from? Users of the technology claim that interoperability is key, so why are developments lacking there despite partnerships being announced? When can we expect a greater shift on the software side, given you highlighted it as a key criteria in several use cases?
13.
How do you assess Sciex’s recent partnerships and M&A activity, including its January 2021 acquisition of Intabio, developer of the Blaze System? What do you think to the company’s July 2021 partnership with Genedata, which relates to the software solution we discussed?
14.
What are your expectations for Sciex’s further partnerships or M&A activity, perhaps to catch up in certain segments but also to protect its significant lead in applied markets? What areas would be key to address?
15.
What is your longer-term outlook for Sciex and its performance vs players that pose a potential threat? How do you assess its innovation pace vs peers? Previous Forum Interviews [see LC-MS Market – Competitive Landscape & Development Trends – 13 April 2021] suggest that Sciex’s innovation pace has largely stalled under the Danaher umbrella. What should we continue to monitor?
16.
Can you expand on the broader Sciex team? There was significant disruption at Waters, given previous leadership and a significant push to correct aspects that led to high turnover. What other criteria play into your expectations for Sciex’s performance?
