Mr. Garrett: We are a biomedical testing company. We make, develop, and market the systems that are used to generate biomedical information. For a clinical laboratory, it's the blood test that is done as part of an annual physical or to diagnose a disease in the hospital. In the research laboratory, we provide many systems used in developing drugs, or to understand disease, research that really helps create breakthroughs in biological science. Back in the very early days of biomedical testing and research instruments, Beckman Instruments was involved in facilitating major developments, even the discovery of DNA. I heard James Watson speak about his and Crick's work and they gave a lot of credit to Beckman and the tools that the company provided. We have been around for a long time and have tremendous experience in this field. We believe that by understanding the process that laboratories use to generate information and maintaining the requisite scientific and engineering capabilities , we can simplify, automate, and innovate that process to make it more productive and provide better outcomes for patients. We say that we are inspired to improve patient health and reduce the cost of care. It's what makes Beckman Coulter a very special company within a very important industry and motivates all our employees. It is how we motivate employees and fundamentally how we create value for customers and shareholders alike.
TWST: How do you feel that the diagnostic testing fits in today's healthcare
equation?
Mr. Garrett: It's certainly part of this equation. We think that diagnostic
testing, clinical laboratory testing, is one of the great bargains in
healthcare. We provide literally 70% or more of the information that a doctor
uses to make decisions about patients and treatments; on average, we account for
less than 2% of overall healthcare spending. That is a US figure, but I think
the concept applies in most of the developed countries in the world. And the
costs to perform testing have been relatively flat. In real dollars, a test that
cost 10 in 1985 probably costs less than 8 today. On an inflation-adjusted
basis, it's probably less than half of what it cost in 1985. So we are improving
the productivity of the healthcare system and doing it very cost-effectively.
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