Cepheid (NASDAQ: CPHD) is a leading nucleic acid (NA) testing company based in Sunnyvale, CA. Founded in 1996, the company develops, manufactures, and markets fully-integrated systems and reagents, with a strong focus in the molecular diagnostics (MDx) market. Cepheid also offers NA tests in the agriculture, biothreat, environmental testing and food markets.
In 2009, the ~$900M company reported total revenues of ~$171M and net loss of ~$22.5M. Cepheid’s revenue grew an impressive 19% pa (per annum) in the last four years, outpacing the ~16% growth pa of the MDx market over the same time period. This growth has been driven by the ability of Cepheid’s technology and instruments to penetrate the MDx market, especially the MRSA testing market. Cepheid's instruments, the GeneXpert and SmartCycler, streamline labor- and time-intensive genetic testing procedures.The company’s flagship product, the GeneXpert, is a random-access fully-automated system that can be configured with 1-to-48 modules to meet volume requirements from point-of-care sites to large reference laboratories.
This instrument and its underlying patents differentiate Cepheid from other MDx players.
The GeneXpert is the only MDx platform using real time PCR approved for use in moderate complexity CLIA laboratories. The key to receiving this classification lies in the sample-to-answer cartridge; this easy-to-use cartridge enable clinical staff to perform all steps from DNA sample preparation to detection without technician oversight.
These characteristics make the GeneXpert particularly valuable when rapid and sensitive NA identification is required(e.g., infectious diseases, hospital- cquired infections).
This report performs a complete SWOT analysis of Cepheid. Fifteen points of the SWOT analysis are discussed. |
