With current technology and resources, a well-funded in vitro diagnostics company can create and pursue a strategy of information gathering and informatics application to create medical knowledge, enabling it to assume the risk and manage certain segments of patients. But few if any pharma or diagnostics firms appear poised to take advantage.

Nontraditional buyers, including Big Pharmas, life science tool companies, diversified conglomerates, and even food companies, are snapping up molecular diagnostics assets with increasing frequency, applying a variety of models to enhance their businesses.

The early biotech industry thrived on a combination of hope and hype while diagnostics, which evolved using many of the same tools, was traditionally viewed -- and priced -- almost as a commodity. Now we're seeing the advent of complex, high-value diagnostics. As the techniques underlying tests increase in their biological complexity and the knowledge base of their developers about specific disease areas deepens, is the value proposition becoming more biotech-like?