Summary

In 2020 and beyond, the medical biology laboratory market experienced a notable boom, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a significant increase in demand for PCR and antigen tests. During this period, the attractiveness of the market surged for investors such as Ardian and BPI, who capitalized on its strong profitability. However, despite strong sales growth, the market underwent significant restructuring, with a considerable reduction in the number of laboratories due to mergers and acquisitions. Nevertheless, the number of sampling sites and employment levels remained stable. Sales are down on the peak years of the pandemic, but are expected to be well above pre-pandemic reference levels.

The market is mainly operated by large groups such as Biogroup, Cerba and Inovie, which have a combined market share of 40%. Despite market consolidation, independent laboratories have remained resilient, accounting for around 30-35% of the market.

Dynamic demand in the medical laboratories market

The medical laboratories landscape has seen substantial changes in recent times, with demand strongly influenced by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The French market, for example, has seen a remarkable increase in revenues, mainly due to the high volume of Covid-19 PCR tests performed during the health crisis period. Between May 2020 and the end of 2022, laboratories performed around 120 million Covid PCR tests, contributing around 25% of their sales. This impressive growth, representing billions in sales, has attracted investors such as Ardian and BPI, who see the sector as highly profitable.

At the same time, although the sector has seen a contraction in the number of operational laboratories over the past decade, mergers and acquisitions have been active, leading to a more consolidated market structure. For example, Innovie's acquisition of Biocolinic Laboratories in June 2022 illustrates this trend towards consolidation in the sector. Demand for services has also had an impact on the workforce in the medical biology sector. Although the number of laboratories has declined, employment has remained relatively stable, reflecting efficiency gains and perhaps the increased scale of operations in large conglomerates.

as the industry normalizes after the crisis, profits should realign somewhat, but continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels. The trajectory of the French medical laboratories market over the period 2022-2023 indicates a decline in revenues compared to the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. Regulatory influences are also set to recalibrate the sector's financial dynamics, with initiatives such as the Social Security Financing Bill set to cut routine medical biology tariffs by around 250 million euros, creating tensions between the government and industry players.

Consequently, while demand for medical biology laboratory services has been explosive in recent times, largely due to an unprecedented global health emergency, the market is showing signs of weakening.cent global health emergency, the market is showing signs of returning to more sustainable levels of demand, albeit at an increased baseline compared to the pre-Covid era.

Key players in the French medical laboratories market

The French medical biology market is not only vast in scope, but also highly dynamic, with a few core groups establishing a strong hold on market share. Biogroup, Cerba and Inovie are significant forces, collectively holding around 40% of the market.

Biogroup stands out as a key player with its strategic acquisitions, including notable groups such as Laborizon and Dyomedea-Neolab. The breadth of the company's reach is evident in its network of sites, bringing together thousands of technicians and biologists across France. Its aggressive expansion and consolidation activities have played a key role in strengthening its market presence.
Cerba, another leading player, strengthened its network through the integration of Labexa, a remarkable consolidation of several networks to form a group with a significant number of sites and employees in the main departments of the Aquitaine/Pyrénées region. The acquisition of Labexa was marked by fierce competition, reflecting the aggressive landscape where laboratory titans vie for supremacy.
Inovie, with its innovative approach and significant market share, has also been active on the acquisition front, acquiring well-established players including Biofutur and Bioclinic. The acquisition of the latter is particularly significant, with its network centered on Paris and the Île-de-France region. Inovie's ability to grow and secure investment, as demonstrated by Ardian's involvement, further strengthens its weight in the industry.
General laboratories such as Synlab, Unilabs and Eurofins also contribute to market diversity. Although their scope of action extends beyond human health-related activities, they considerably influence the medical biology sector thanks to their wide range of services and their international links.

Watching these giants expand through mergers and acquisitions, it's clear that financial strength, strategic collaboration and investment attractiveness are key to gaining and maintaining a foothold in this highly competitive environment. Their ability to adapt and grow through strategic mergers is a testament to the powerful combination of entrepreneurial acumen, scientific know-how and fiscal prudence that drives the French biology industry.

the medical laboratories market - France

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Number of pages : 30 pages
Format : Digital and PDF versions
Last update : 04/05/2023

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Summary and extracts

1 Market overview

1.1 Definition and scope of the study

Medical biology laboratories, formerly called medical analysis laboratories, are places whose function is the realization of diagnoses and medical follow-ups from samples of various human biological fluids. They are managed by biologists.

The French market includes suppliers of reagents and consumables (gloves, masks, etc.), various laboratory groups, sampling sites, technical platforms and finally government agencies (the French Health Insurance).

The turnover of the activity in France has experienced strong growth thanks in particular to Covid PCR tests (120 million tests were performed between May 2020 and the end of 2022, generating strong revenues for the laboratories and representing 25% of the laboratories' turnover). This strong growth attracts many investors, such as Ardian or the BPI, who see a high profitability.

At the same time, the market is undergoing restructuring, the number of laboratories has dropped considerably over the last 10 years and mergers and acquisitions have multiplied. For example, in June 2022, Innovie acquired Biocolinic laboratories. Nevertheless, the number of sampling sites and the number of employees remain stable despite the rationalization of the sector.

In 2022 and 2023, the sector's revenue is down compared to 2020 and 2021 but should reach a level well above 2019.

In this context, where medical biology laboratories have benefited from strong revenues during the health crisis and where the Assurance Maladie has disbursed 7.3 billion euros to finance tests [Alternatives économiques], the Social Security financing bill for 2023 aims to reduce the fees for routine medical biology in order to achieve savings of 250 million euros. The announcement of this measure has led to strong tensions between the government and representatives of the sector.

2 Analysis of the demand

3 Market structure

4 Analysis of the offer

5 Regulation

6 Positioning of the actors

List of charts

Health Expenditure of EU Countries
Consumption of medical care and goods
Breakdown of CSBM by expenditure category
Evolution of CSBM for analysis laboratories
Distribution of persons having had a prescription for a medical analysis by sex
Proportion of people with a medical biology expense by pathological profile
Sales of medical biology laboratories (extra-hospital)
Changes in the number and number of employees at local sampling sites (NAF code 86.90B)
Number of laboratories (companies) with at least one employee
Breakdown of revenues by laboratory size
Distribution of laboratories by size
Ranking of leading medical biology laboratory groups by sales
Changes in CSBM funding by social security for the analysis laboratory division
Trend in household out-of-pocket expenses for analysis laboratory CSBM
Distribution of employees of analysis laboratories by gender
Breakdown of employees by age group
Distribution of employees in analysis laboratories by type of contract
Changes in theoretical and actual training expenses under the training plan
Breakdown of medical biology expenses by pathology
Annual change in the CSBM price index for analysis laboratories

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Latest news

Eurofins, the testing champion - 20/07/2023

In 1987, Gilles Martin founded Eurofins, based in Nantes.
In 1996, Eurofins establishes a presence in the United States.
In 2011, the U.S. entity reported sales of $100 million and employed around 1,000 people.
Eurofins has made over 400 acquisitions since its IPO in 1997
The company carries out 200,000 different tests and analyzes 450 million samples every year
Eurofins' sales and earnings reached €6.7 billion and €610 million respectively in 2020
Eurofins joined the CAC 40 in September 2021, with a market capitalization of €11.9 billion
Eurofins' main markets are Europe and North America, which account for 85% of its sales.

BioMérieux boosts capacity at its French plants - 27/06/2023

BioMérieux investment plan: 300 million euros over five years
BioMérieux sales: 3.6 billion euros
BioMérieux workforce: 13,800 people
Test kit market growth: 10% per year
Volume of kits assembled by BioMérieux: 130 to 140 million per year

Ouest Biologie strengthens its position in Morbihan - 24/05/2023

The group has 30 different locations.
500 employees
Ouest Biologie's annual sales are €55 million.
31 biologists are partners in Ouest Biologie.
The group employs a total of 40 qualified biologists.
Independent medical analysis laboratories like Ouest Biologie still control 30-35% of the French market
In 2008, there were 5,000 medical analysis laboratories, now there are just over 400 in operation.
Biogroup is a leader in the sector, with 11,000 employees and 930 laboratories.

bioMérieux: end of Covid brings testing champion back down to earth - 09/03/2023

Family-owned group with 13,000 employees
Annual profit reduced from €601 in 2021 to €452 million in 2022, despite sales increasing by 6.3% to €3.6 billion due to the acquisition of US ultra-rapid antibiotic resistance testing company Specific Diagnostics

BioMérieux invests in an ultra-fast antibiotic resistance test. - 20/05/2022

BioMérieux is the world leader in antibiotic resistance testing, with a 40% market share.
The antibiotic resistance testing market represents 10% of bioMérieux sales.
Acquisition of California-based Specific Diagnostics
Specific Diagnostics' test is sufficiently innovative for bioMérieux to have triggered the acquisition of the company.
The California-based company has 82 employees.
BioMérieux forecasts sales of $60 million over the next five years,

Companies quoted in this study

This study contains a complete overview of the companies in the market, with the latest figures and news for each company. :

Inovie

Biogroup

Synlab Groupe

Cerba Healthcare

Unilabs

Eurofins Groupe

Oriade-Noviale

Eurofins

BioMerieux Groupe

Ouest Biologie

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