Invitrogen (IVGN)

Since its market has almost no barriers to entry, Invitrogen faces ample competition and is constantly pressured for innovation and competitive pricing from its larger peers as well as smaller, innovative firms. The digestion of its recent acquisitions of other biotechnology companies could also raise Invitrogen's internal operating costs, decreasing its profitability.

Due to the nature of its customer base, Invitrogen is heavily reliant on governmental research spending, namely NIH grants, to maintain revenue. The slow growth of the NIH budget in recent years could limit market growth for Invitrogen's products and result in the loss of clients who have opted not to purchase more Invitrogen products due to lack of funding.

Due to the nature of its customer base, Invitrogen is heavily reliant on governmental research spending, namely NIH grants, to maintain revenue. The slow growth of the NIH budget in recent years could limit market growth for Invitrogen's products and result in the loss of clients who have opted not to purchase more Invitrogen products due to lack of funding.

Since its market has almost no barriers to entry, Invitrogen faces ample competition and is constantly pressured for innovation and competitive pricing from its larger peers as well as smaller, innovative firms. The digestion of its recent acquisitions of other biotechnology companies could also raise Invitrogen's internal operating costs, decreasing its profitability.

The cyclical nature of fetal bovine serum (FBS) supply also causes potential concerns for Invitrogen's profitability when subjected to frequent supply shocks. Since its current primary products all rely on adaequate supplies of FBS, limited FBS supply would result in a decrease in Invitrogen's competitiveness.