The world market for diagnostics was about $54.6 billion in 2013 and is expected to grow 4% annually, to $65 billion, by 2018.

That figure in Kalorama's biennial survey of the IVD industry, The Worldwide Market for In Vitro Diagnostic Tests, 9th Edition, includes all laboratory and hospital-based products, and OTC product sales. New technology is leading the charge, according to Kalorama. Diagnostic laboratory technology has changed dramatically due to the publication of the human genome project and advances in functional genomics, bioinformatics, miniaturization and microelectronics.  
"Not three years ago it would have been almost inconceivable to see research technologies such as genome sequencing and mass spectroscopy play a pivotal role in improving lab medicine," said Shara Rosen, Kalorama's lead diagnostic analyst and the author of the report. "Their influence is felt in personalized medicine, inherited diseases, pathogen detection, antibiotic resistance testing, blood banking and much more to come."

According to the report, this phenomenon has seen the major vendors of these technologies enter the IVD market. Life Technologies, Illumina, Affymetrix, Bruker Daltonics, PerkinElmer/Caliper and others have all launched clinical tests and test services. Another finding in the report is that emerging markets have taken off. All of the major IVD companies reported at least 25% increase in their sales in China and growth in the top seven emerging markets: Brazil, Turkey, Korea, India, Russia and Mexico.  

"We knew that these were target markets but the double-digit results in China were surprising," said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. "These countries continue to invest in healthcare infrastructure and insurance coverage and IVD is part of that."

On the supply side, labs are challenged to add new tests with little increase in financial and human resources. For most labs it may even mean doing more with less.

The survey can be obtained at http://www.kaloramainformation.com/redirect.asp?progid=86544&productid=8...