The Sequencing & Diagnostics — Illumina, IDEXX & the Lab-Instrument Oligopoly
Two near-monopolies: Illumina in human DNA sequencing (~60%) and IDEXX in veterinary diagnostics (>60%).
DNA sequencing has been a near-monopoly for over a decade — Illumina still holds ~60% of global instrument placements per Mordor Intelligence's 2025 NGS market report, though that's down from 70–80% as Element Biosciences, Ultima Genomics, and Oxford Nanopore erode the lead. In veterinary diagnostics, IDEXX runs a textbook razor/razor-blade model with over 60% market share and pricing power most human-diagnostics companies envy. Mass spec and lab-instrument oligopoly (Waters, Bruker, Agilent, Mettler-Toledo, Revvity) rounds out the chokepoint.
Instrument-and-consumable franchises with multi-year customer lock-in. Once a hospital, university, or vet clinic is on the platform, they buy reagents for 10+ years.
4 names on the watchlist
~60% of global DNA sequencing instrument placements. SomaLogic acquisition completed Jan 2026.
Per Mordor Intelligence (2025), Illumina retains roughly 60% of global next-gen sequencing instrument placements (down from ~70–80% in earlier years). Completed SomaLogic acquisition January 30, 2026, adding proteomics integration. Razor/razor-blade business model: sell instruments at modest margin, then sell sequencing reagents (consumables) at very high margin for the instrument's 10-year life.
>60% share of veterinary diagnostics. Classic razor/razor-blade model.
Sells diagnostic instruments and consumables to veterinary clinics . Over 60% share of the vet diagnostics market. Razor/razor-blade: place instruments at clinics, then sell reagents and test kits for the next decade. Q1 revenue +14%; raised guidance.
Waters, Bruker, Agilent, Mettler-Toledo, Revvity — the lab-instrument oligopoly.
Tight oligopoly of mass spec, chromatography, and lab instruments. Waters, Bruker, Agilent, Mettler-Toledo, and Revvity all dominate specific niches with high reagent/consumable attach. Recovering from 2024 destocking. Group exposure preferred over single-name concentration.
Dominant research animal models and preclinical CRO.
Dominant supplier of research animal models (mice, primates) and preclinical contract research services. Every new drug goes through CRL-style preclinical work. Recovery thesis post-2024 biotech-funding destocking.
- Fortune Business Insights, Precedence Research · 2025–2026