Proteomics market expected to experience continual growth

The market for microarrays used to study the workings of proteins are in great demand, according to Kalorama Information. The healthcare market research publisher said "proteomics" instruments, reagents and testing are needed to discover new biomarkers and even new drugs, and that the market for them topped 5 billion dollars in 2013. There are several tests that are useful in protein analysis, but Kalorama says microarrays were among the fastest revenue growth category. The finding was made in Kalorama's latest report, Proteomics Markets Research and IVD Applications.

"The proteomics market is expected to continue to grow as researchers continue to work on basic understanding of the human proteome, and as researchers apply these discoveries in fields such as biomarker discovery and validation, drug discovery and development, diagnostics, and personalized medicine," said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information.

Proteomics is the study of proteins, including the study of the structure and function of proteins. This includes the study of which proteins are expressed, when and where they are expressed, structure of proteins, roles of proteins, and interactions of proteins. Protein microarrays are arrays of proteins or peptides that are immobilized onto a solid surface such as a glass slide, membrane, microtiter plate, or other solid surface. Companies such as GE Healthcare, Thermo Fischer and Sigma Aldrich are involved in the marketing of protein microarrays.

According to the report, while the entire market will grow at high single-digits, the microarray market within proteomics will grow at 15% revenue growth per year for the next five years.

The report identifies three main types of protein microarrays:

• Analytical microarrays: Analytical protein microarrays (or antibody microarrays) have antibodies arrays on the solid surface, and are used to detect proteins in biological samples. Often, a second antibody is used to detect a protein that is captured by the antibody attached to the solid phase, in a principle similar to that of a sandwich immunoassay.
• Functional protein microarrays: With functional protein microarrays purified recombinant proteins are immobilized onto the solid phase. These protein microarrays can then be used to study enzymatic activity or to identify protein-protein (or peptide), protein-DNA, protein-RNA, protein-phospholipid, or other protein-drug interactions. These functional protein microarrays can also be used to detect antibodies in a biological specimen to profile an immune response.
• Protein lysate microarrays (also called reverse phase protein microarrays): Complex samples such as lysates from tissues or cells are arrayed onto the solid phase, and then probed with antibodies to a target protein of interest.

Companies have used these principles of microarrays, combined with their own proprietary technologies, to develop a wide range of protein microarrays. Kalorama Information's report features more than 20 firms involved in the development and marketing of protein microarrays and details the products they provide, and the expected earnings for companies involved in microarrays and other proteomics.