Roche POC continues to lose hospital market share as they stumble along with a glucose meter that was 5 years old when it launched in 2013. The word is they won’t have a replacement glucose meter for 3 more years. The Roche POC Salesforce is tasked with selling the Liat flu analyzers to hospitals where there is little interest for the device that fits better in small clinics. Competitive products are cheaper and faster giving customers no reason to select a Liat. Account managers haven’t made decent bonuses in a couple of years because of the heavy weighting on Liat in the bonus plan. All of this raises many questions: Will Roche exit the hospital glucose market (like J&J did a few years ago? Will Roche cut the size of the Salesforce? Will Roche exit the POC hospital space entirely?
Five years after launch, Liat is still struggling with poor strategy and marketing. The constant invalids, allocations and out of stock conditions make it difficult to sell with any integrity. Having three sales forces scrap over it has created deep seated animosity. Thank you JZ! Where is the product development? Five years and 3 assays? What a joke! Now, we are willing to give it away to get business, scrapping the service charge and lowering prices in a race to the bottom. There goes differentiation. But, go ahead and blame the salesforces for not delivering!
With no Group A Strep assay and trouble with Flu and Flu/RSV it looks like Liat is toast. Millions of dollars of business "at risk". Way to develop the product, Roche! Looks like Hospital Point of Care is headed for oblivion.