10 reasons for growth in the market for infectious disease testing

2020 03 18 20 13 7386 Virus Coronavirus Covid 19 400

While COVID-19 has placed the need for in vitro diagnostics (IVD) that can detect infectious diseases front and center, demand for these tests was building before the pandemic and revenues for test products will grow. There are 10 reasons for the growth, according to a report from Kalorama Information.

Bruce Carlson from Kalorama InformationBruce Carlson from Kalorama Information The IVD industry consists of tests and related products that detect and characterize infectious diseases. Kalorama covers the market in its latest report, Infectious Disease World Market Analysis, an update of a study the company conducted in 2019. Kalorama is a major publisher of IVD market research and is a sister company to LabPulse.com.

The Kalorama report estimates the market for infectious diseases diagnostic testing to be worth $62.7 billion. The growth in COVID-19 testing has been a factor but is not the only contributor to the demand for infectious disease testing.

While COVID-19 testing revenues are not wholly predictable, they are expected to decline over the long-term. However, other infectious disease testing will grow. Kalorama's report cites 10 reasons for this growth:

  1. Aging population patterns, which will increase the number of individuals vulnerable to infectious and viral conditions in most countries.
  2. Evolving epidemiological patterns, which will keep diseases such as hepatitis, sepsis, malaria, and tuberculosis viable threats to human health, especially in the developing countries.
  3. The expansion of healthcare cost-containment initiatives, which will encourage medical providers to broaden the use of IVD tests that detect infectious diseases in early stages when treatment is less costly and more likely to succeed.
  4. The continuing widespread coverage of most residents in developed countries for basic and essential diagnostic procedures.
  5. Gradual improvements in the availability, accessibility, and diagnostic capabilities of medical delivery systems in developed countries.
  6. The periodic emergence of new infectious and viral disease threats, which will create a need for related tests. COVID-19 itself is a large category of infectious disease testing, as detailed in the report.
  7. Widening acceptance of routine infectious disease screening procedures in basic inpatient and outpatient care.
  8. Stepped-up efforts by hospitals and other medical facilities to reduce the incidence and mortality of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
  9. Advances in molecular and other advanced IVD technologies, which will increase infectious disease detection capabilities.
  10. The adaptation of new and existing infectious disease testing procedures to point-of-care (POC) sites in hospitals, outpatient facilities, physicians' offices, retail clinics, nursing homes, and other near-patient markets.

Diseases for which there are tests include influenza and other respiratory infections, hepatitis, tuberculosis, TORCH, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing (ID/AST), HIV/AIDS, and others (including malaria, streptococcal infections, and fungal infections.) These are covered in the report.

The report also foresees the following trends:

  • Immunoassays are accounting for the largest value and volume of infectious disease tests, reflecting low cost, increasing capabilities, and the availability of new POC products.
  • Molecular tests are generating the fastest value and volume growth, spurred by advances in PCR, PCR-alternative amplification, next-generation sequencing, microarray, and other advanced genetic methodologies with enhanced pathogenic detection and identification capabilities.
  • Conventional microbiology remains a widely used modality for identifying complex microorganisms and evaluating microbial resistance to anti-infective agents, but are posting below average value and volume growth due to advances in molecular tests and, to a lesser extent, immunoassays.

The report said that applications for infectious disease IVD products are divided among tests based on well-established immunoassay and conventional microbiology methods as well as newer, advancing molecular technologies. All three segments are expected to generate positive worldwide growth in both volume and revenues over the next decade based on evolving epidemiological and healthcare trends.

Kalorama information's report can be found on the publisher's website.

Bruce Carlson is the publisher of Kalorama Information, part of Science and Medicine Group.

Disclosure: LabPulse.com is a sister company of Kalorama Information.

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