High Levels of Reimbursement Available for Vacuum-Assisted Biopsy Procedures Stimulate Growth

May 10, 2007—Waltham, Massachusetts—Millennium Research Group (MRG) has conducted a detailed analysis of the US breast biopsy market in its Global Markets for Breast Biopsy Devices 2007 report. The report finds that vacuum-assisted biopsy (VAB) is the fastest growing segment of the market in the US valued at $154 million in 2006.

Driven primarily by its ability to extract a large tissue sample without the need for open surgery or large incisions, this market will grow to over $220 million by 2011. Further driving the VAB market will be the increased demand for ultrasound-compatible VAB systems, which allow for the benefits of VAB without requiring the purchase of stereotactic mammography equipment.

“High accuracy rates from VAB testing is driving procedure volumes,” says Sana Siddiqui, analyst at MRG. “VAB allows for the entire area of interest to be sampled; thereby providing a more complete picture of the suspicious lesion. The increased diagnostic accuracy obtained from VAB is further encouraging physicians to perform these procedures to prevent misdiagnosis and malpractice suits. Growth in this market will also be promoted by the high levels of reimbursement available for VAB procedures compared to other minimally invasive breast biopsy procedures.”

The Global Markets for Breast Biopsy Devices 2007 report provides coverage of the US, Europe and Japan. Selected companies covered in this report include Ethicon Endo-Surgery, C.R. Bard, and Suros Surgical Systems.

About Vacuum-Assisted Biopsy
Procedures Used to detect breast cancer, vacuum-assisted biopsy systems allow for the minimally invasive removal of larger tissue samples than the original core-needle biopsy procedures used for the same detection. Some VAB devices are also able to obtain multiple samples with only one insertion of the needle, which further reduces patient trauma and scarring. In addition, VAB is able to effectively sample microcalcifications that may be indicative of breast cancer.