Automated and rapid microbiological tests are rapidly adopting new technologies and automated techniques reducing the time required to detect pathogens from five to ten days to only one day in most cases. These second-generation microbiological tests are moving away from the first-generation technologies such as immunoassays, chromatography and polymerase chain reactions whilst adopting new advanced concepts of biotechnology and molecular diagnostics.
By the end of 2017, the automated and rapid microbiological tests market is forecast to be valued at US$4.5 billion. The increasing number of cases of infectious diseases and sexually transmitted diseases combined with the increased expenditure into developing quicker and more accurate methods of testing is driving growth in this market sector.
The United States is forecast to remain the largest regional market for automated and rapid microbiological testing. The market place is highly saturated and lowering costs of testing services is expected to spawn an era of vertical and horizontal integration across the market. Advancements in molecular diagnose such as genetic probe tests hold the key to dominating this market place, taking market share from players adopting the more traditional rapid microbiology tests approach.
In Europe, the microbiological testing market is forecast to increase by 5.6% with the other markets in Asia and Latin America also expected to report strong growth as the new technologies are implemented.
The largest end-use market sector is automated identification with GC / Chlamydia Rapid Tests representing the fastest expanding sector, growing at a strong rate of 5.3% CAGR. The main players in the automated and microbiological testing market are Abbott Laboratories, Alere Inc., Becton Dickinson and Company, bioMerieux SA, Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Cellabs Pty Ltd, Celsis International Plc, Coris BioConcept, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Gen-Probe Inc., Sekisui Diagnostics LLC, MedMira Inc., Meridian Biosciences Inc., Orasure Technologies Inc., Orion Diagnostica Oy, Quidel Corp., Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc., and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.