Polymerase Chain Reaction Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Polymerase Chain Reaction Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The Polymerase Chain Reaction Market is expected to register a CAGR of more than 7.8% during the forecast period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the polymerase chain reaction market growth. There is a positive impact on the PCR market due to the increasing demand in the clinical diagnostic segment of the market. As the authorities have not recommended the viral culture tests, almost all the diagnostic tests use RT-PCR to test the population who have symptoms of COVID-19 and are advised by healthcare professionals to undergo a diagnostic test. Most pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies are focusing on the research and development departments on identifying new molecules or leads for the treatment of COVID-19.​ For instance, in May 2021, Cipla Limited launched ‘ViraGen’, a polymerase chain reaction (Covid-19 RT-PCR) test for Covid-19 in India in partnership with Ubio Biotechnology Systems Pvt. Ltd.

The major factors driving the growth of the polymerase chain reaction market include the increasing application in clinical diagnostics, rising demand for personalized and precision medicine, and technological advancements and applications in drug development.

Rising demand for personalized and precision medicine is a major factor driving the market growth. Personalized medicine, which aims to provide tailor-made therapies to individual patients, depending on the molecular basis of disease, became popular over recent years. The aging global population and the rising prevalence of chronic disease are putting unrelenting pressure on the healthcare system's capacity and financial viability across the world. According to the World Population Prospects: the 2019 Revision, one in every six people will be over 65 years of age by 2050. The rising demand for personalized medicine has thus created tremendous opportunities in the field of genetic medicine. Also, to facilitate personalized medicine, it is crucial to develop precise and reproducible means of gaining molecular information about the underlying disease, which can be used to guide clinical decision-making. PCR techniques are, therefore, being increasingly utilized in such screening methods.

Additionally, technological advancements in molecular biology, life sciences, and biotechnology have brought a paradigm shift in drug discovery, personalized medicines, forensic sciences, and clinical research and development in the biotechnology industry. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an important breakthrough in the biotechnology industry and is an integral part of the pharmaceutical and life science industries, for developing assays, test kits and solutions, and culture media. The rising use of these devices in the drug discovery is further fueling the market growth. For instance, in July 2021, Indian, Brazilian, and South African scientists are working together to repurpose, validate and synthesize lead compounds against main protease and RNA replicase, the enzyme that catalyzes the replication of RNA, of SARS-CoV-2. This process involves PCR for the amplification of the gene of interest and hence such initiatives boost the market growth in the country.

However, high cost of instruments and emergence of alternative technologies are the factors hindering the polymerase chain reaction market growth.

By application, the clinical diagnostics segment is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period.

PCR has become an integral part of clinical and diagnostic research and has transformed diagnostic medicine over years. There are numerous clinical diagnoses where PCR technology can be used. Thus, to overcome the clinical error rate, PCR is broadly used in the viral diagnosis of the disease. It reduces diagnosis time and has improved the specificity and accuracy of the result, thus driving market growth. According to an article, PCR past, present, and future, in August 2020, there are two main areas of PCR utilization in bioscience: high-throughput PCR systems and microfluidics-based PCR devices for point-of-care (POC) applications.

Also, the rising COVID-19 cases and spread of the disease in major countries have increased the demand for the diagnostic tests of the virus in the suspected population. This trend is primarily due to the low or non-availability of rapid or specific diagnostic tests for such diseases. Moreover, in May 2021, the Gene Lab- Clinical Diagnostic Lab by Clevergene opened a cutting-edge COVID-19 RT-PCR testing facility in Bengaluru. The ICMR approved lab has the capability of deploying automated RNA extraction and high-throughput RT-PCR to deliver up to 3000 tests in a single day.Therefore, pertaining to broad applications of PCR in clinical diagnostics, the segment is likely to register high growth during the forecast period.

Thus, owing to the aforementioned factors, the market is expected to register a significant growth during the forecast period.

Within North America, United States has held a major share of the market. The major factors contributing to the market growth are the presence of many market players engaged in manufacturing, the increasing prevalence of genetic and chronic disorders, such as cancer, the aging population, the rising demand for precision and personalized medicine, and favorable government initiatives.

For instance, as the COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly and the spread of the virus is very rapid, speeding up the transmission. The increasing count of suspects increases the number of diagnostic tests, boosting the market growth in the country. For instance, in April 2020, United States Food and Drug Administration authorized the first diagnostic test with a home collection option for COVID-19. The FDA re-issued the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) COVID-19 RT-PCR Test to permit testing of samples self-collected by patients at home using LabCorp’s Pixel by LabCorp COVID-19 Test home collection kit.

Also, according to Cancer Statistics 2021 published in American Cancer Society Journal there is an estimated 1.9 million new cancer cases diagnosed and 608,570 cancer deaths in United States, which will drive the market significantly.

Furthermore, the launch of new products based on PCR test will drive the market growth significantly. For instance, in September 2020, Roche received United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the cobas HIV-1/HIV-2 Qualitative Test for use on the fully automated cobas 6800/8800 Systems in United States. The test will help healthcare professionals in confirming HIV diagnosis with single test and differentiate HIV-1 and HIV-2, an important distinction needed to identify appropriate treatment options. This test is based on PCR technology which will reduce the diagnosis time by one week, thus boosting the market.

Thus, in view of the factors mentioned above, the market is expected to witness significant growth in the region over the forecast period.

The market studied is moderately consolidated in nature, owing to the presence of a few major players. Some of the market players are Abbott Laboratories, Agilent Technologies Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company, bioMerieux SA, Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., GE Healthcare, Merck KGaA, PerkinElmer Inc., Promega Corporation, Siemens Healthcare, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. These major companies are found focusing on R&D to develop advanced technology products to gain a competitive edge. Companies are also found engaging in partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions, aiming to strengthen their product portfolios and manufacturing capacities and provide competitive differentiation.

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