Analysis of High Price of New Instrument

Some time ago during the domestic lecture, I heard that researchers and tech entrepreneurs complained that the prices of advanced instruments and technology platforms were too high.

In fact, another reason for the high cost of new instrument technology is that it not only represents new technological achievements, but also represents an opportunity. We can't just calculate the experimental cost, we must learn how to go to the computer. The so-called opportunity cost is to grab the input needed to find and invent the invention in front of others.

Such as high-throughput sequencing, I came into contact with this technology in 2007, when a 454 sequencer was used to complete a gene sequencing need 35,000 US dollars. In order to develop the immunology library sequencing technology, we have done more than 10 sequencing at a time, resulting in the creation of a number of patented technologies and the publication of a paper.

Research investment also has the meaning of “gambling”: how to choose the right scientific research project? Which project has a higher return on investment? We all hope to achieve maximum results with the least cost, but why is it so difficult?

Those who care too much about the cost of scientific research, what they see, and what they think of, must first be how much it costs to buy an instrument, and then they also want to spend the money on the impact of deposits, and how long it will take to get the same amount of money. What is easy to ignore is what are the original opportunities to spend the money?

If we all wait for the price of the instrument to drop to the point where we can afford it, have you ever thought that when you can afford that instrument, thousands of others can afford it? Instrumentation, what you want to do is often what others want and can do. So, when you buy the instrument, the opportunity for innovation will disappear.

I am not encouraging everyone to buy valuable instruments. After all, we all have limited funds on hand. What I mean by this is that we should develop the habit of analyzing the cost of opportunities. We should not easily let go of opportunities that are in front of us. Also, once you seize the opportunity, you must expand the results and form a positive cycle.

It also creates unique results. Biomedical scientific innovation is usually divided into the following four categories: using the cheapest, popular instruments; using popular techniques to control difficult specimens; and using newer technologies. Research more difficult specimens; use the latest technology to study better specimens.

The first type of method is very difficult, such as the multiplex PCR technology we developed. Everyone has been doing PCR for twenty or thirty years, but why is multiplex PCR difficult? How to overcome this difficulty? We have come up with a solution that includes tem-PCR, arm-PCR and PPI. These new technologies were developed using a few hundred dollars of ordinary PCR instruments.

The second category is generally a clinician who is able to contact the patient on the first line, and doctors who pay attention to this kind of opportunity can obtain this kind of opportunity.

The third category requires the close cooperation of clinical researchers and basic researchers and the formation of a cooperative team in the first place. Our R10K project falls into this category.

The premise of the fourth type of approach is generally to obtain the first pot of gold through other projects. These scientific researchers have sufficient funds on hand and have more opportunities to try new technology platforms. The development of the iCubate instrument platform falls into this category.

From the above classification, it can be seen that the cheaper the equipment, the less the opportunity; the more expensive the equipment, the more opportunities (because of relatively few competitors). People who are accustomed to new things often find tips to make money and taste the sweetness of new instruments. For those who always complain about expensive new instruments, the chances are really limited.